Return From Innocence
by S.H.I.E.L.D.1
Summary: Aleisha thought she'd left her life in S.H.I.E.L.D. behind - but it's following her into her adult life.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I've led a pretty interesting life, travelled the world and learned many great things it has to offer. But, proving that wonders will never cease, the grandest adventure of my life began with a simple trip to Broadway.

I was going to see The Book Of Mormon. Not having attended a red carpet in ages, the board of my company, Conglomerate Inc., was starting to get antsy, afraid that I was fading from the public eye. Since I had planned on seeing the show anyway, it seemed easy to go on opening night and do the damned red carpet. As I waited my turn to saunter for the cameras, I observed my surroundings.

Unfortunately, Kraven the Hunter was holding the latest exhibition of animals he had captured alive in the theater next door. The man himself was standing outside the ornate doors of his venue, wearing his usual animal hides and assorted weapons scattered around his person. I happened to know this wasn't the original Kraven, but his illegitimate son, Alyosha Kravinoff, a mutant with enhanced speed, senses, a healing factor, and my personal favorite of mine, the ability to communicate with and control animals. I had been a bit jealous of that when I read his S.H.I.E.L.D. file.

But now he was flesh and blood in front of me, not a picture clipped to a file, and as I looked over at him, he caught my gaze with his own and held it. I felt a shiver crawl its way down my spine, and knew with certainty that the grin spreading across his face was the same smile he had when he had a particularly impressive animal in the crosshairs of his riffle. He abandoned his post at the door, and strode over to tower over me. He was very tall, at least 6 foot 6 inches, making him about 18 inches taller than myself – my 5-inch stiletto heels hardly made up the difference.

"I am Kraven zee Hunter," he growled at me. His voice was heavily accented, and so low I could almost feel it rumble in my chest. I smiled politely, and disinterestedly.

"Oh, hello, my name is Aleisha West-Warthington. It's a pleasure to meet you."

He proffered his meaty hand, and I shook it, breaking contact as soon as I could. I noted the similarities in our skin colorings – his was a deep tan, while I come by my cocoa skin more naturally. He continued to stare directly into my eyes.

"I know who you are."

"Ah, yes, being a captain of industry and a genius scientist does mean most people have heard of me before I them. Its nearly a shame." I waved my hand airily with my words.

"I see you came alone. It truly _is_ a shame for a beautiful woman like you, to be without an escort for a night on zee town." I narrowed my eyes at him.

" I haven't much free time for relationships, unfortunately. I was lucky to get away tonight long enough to see the show."

"Come to dinner with me." It was an order, and it made me bristle – internally, of course. Anything else with the press four feet away from us would be very, very stupid. Instead, I lowered my eyes from his gaze for the first time since he'd caught it and made a soft noise of disagreement.

"I'm looking forward to the show, and you've your own to attend to." I protested softly.

"Then drinks after" he was pushing hard.

"I'm headed back to the lab straight after closing curtain." My voice got a little firmer. I wished he'd drop it, but it was becoming clear I'd caught entirely too much of his attention. His hand flashed up faster than I could step back in my ridiculous heels and grabbed my right bicep. Hard. He bared his teeth in a sick imitation of a smile, meant only to intimidate me. He dropped his head closer to mine, as though he was about to whisper a secret to me, and growled,

"Take zee night off." His breath was foul, almost rancid.

"No." I was through playing demure, through with him trying his caveman tactics on me, and thoroughly done with this conversation. I wrenched my arm from his gasp, covered the angry red finger marks with my shawl, and deftly stepped in front of a lovely, airheaded starlet who was about to walk in front of the cameras. Smiling broadly, I raised my left hand to the paparazzi and greeted the lovely people who were lingering on the carpet, eager to be seen with someone more famous and powerful than they. I never once looked back at him, but I could feel that he was still standing where I'd left him, glaring daggers into my back.

Leaving the show and intermission was disappointing, but I knew Kravinoff would be waiting for me if I stayed until the closing curtain. I didn't want to find out how much more forceful he could be about dinner, and the distraction was interfering with my enjoyment of the show. As I ducked into my waiting limo, a young man pointed, and another one pulled out a phone. When we'd turned the next corner, the two of them were furiously sprinting after us. I calmly pointed this out to my driver, who took appropriate evasive measures, which had me sliding around in my seat, clutching at my seatbelt. I decided against going back to the lab, and instead my driver took me to my penthouse. I tersely told him to keep the car running and quickly strode through the lobby. I wasn't too quick for the doorman though, who shouted,

"Ya gots a message Mizz Aleisha!" I grimaced, but changed course to go to desk.

"I'm so sorry miss, I've spoken to him about shouting like that…" The concierge was honestly wringing his hands, looking nervous and pale, as though I would lash out at him. I sighed, and simply held out my hand. He dropped the note into my palm, careful to avoid touching me. I stepped away from the desk and shot over my shoulder,

"You yell at him again and I'll have _you_ canned. I had him hired myself."

And I had. The boy, Benny, had Downs Syndrome. I'd met him at one the hundreds of benefits I have to attend every year, and he'd made it a magical night. We ended up staying late in the ballroom, talking about everything under the sun while the caterer cleaned around us, including his struggles finding and keeping employment. I'd taken him to a residents council meeting in the building the next night and introduced him as our new doorman. No one had dared to object, and he'd been a wonderful addition to the staff, finding ways to brighten everyone's days. He was known to bring flowers for me, speak sternly to teenagers picking up their dates, and always had a big bunch of balloons and a song for anyone celebrating birthdays. If he wasn't the most conventional doorman, then, well, any objectors could suck it.

I punched the button for the elevator, jingling my keys while I waited for it to descend. I didn't read the note yet. When the door finally dinged, I stepped into the elevator and put my key into the panel, grateful none of my neighbors had jumped on after me. The doors swooped closed and I brought my shawl closer around me. Alone, I stepped out of my shoes and swooped down to pick them both up in one hand. Soon enough, there was another ding, and the doors opened to reveal my penthouse apartment.

I dropped my keys in the bowl next to the door and checked the security panel above it for anything out of the ordinary. I moved straight to my bedroom, passing the sunken, spacious living room, which opened up onto my expansive balcony and swimming pool. I snatched an apple from the counter in my giant, state of the art kitchen. When I finally pushed open the giant wooden door to my bedroom, I tossed my shoes onto the floor of my closet, whipped the shawl over my armchair and opened the note.

All it held was a drawing of crosshairs.

I lifted my hand to my nose, pinching the bridge hard. The lunatic meant to hunt me. He could probably do it well, too, considering his impressive mutant powers. As I bit into my apple, I carefully considered my options. I did have many, many friends I could go to for help with this but I felt… driven to handle it myself. I could easily handle this without Tony or Nick's help.

Mind made up, I called down to my driver, and told him to take off. I wasn't going to be leaving as soon as I had thought. He wished me a good night, and I bade him a fond farewell. After tossing my apple core into the wastebasket, I turned to my closet and pulled down my backpacking pack. Methodically, ticking off items on my mental checklist, I packed it with the clothing essentials for a week in the wilderness. Then I stripped off my dress, and underthings. I had a gun strapped to my thigh, which I removed along with the holster but kept close at hand as I stepped into my shower. I set it on a recessed shelf, out of the way of the spray. Knowing this could be my last shower for a very long time, I indulged myself, scrubbing my scalp as clean as I could get it, and using my most luxuriant soaps. Finally buffed, polished, and scrubbed as I could possibly get, I shut off the water and picked the gun up as I stepped out.

I set it on the sink counter and rubbed myself dry, careful to be quick about it. I checked the security panel beside the door to reassure myself he hadn't broken into my home while I'd been giving myself the spa treatment. Given the all clear, I picked up the gun again and stepped out into my room, leaving it dangling by my side, finger along the barrel instead of on the trigger. I crossed to an ornate cabinet next to my bed, picking up fresh underwear on the way (some no nonsense bikinis and a sturdy plain bra), and punched the combination into the keypad hidden in its side with my free hand. With a hiss, the whole front of it popped open, revealing that the column of drawers down its front were merely a façade.

I stepped back to swing it wider open. Along the door opening towards me hung holsters, meant to fit from ankle up to wrist and chest. I set my gun on the shelf it belonged on, tugged on the underwear, and started putting on holsters. A small gun for my ankle, another gun and a knife on the opposite thigh, another gun and knife on either side of my chest, and a knife along each of my forearms. Satisfied with the arsenal I had – for now – I turned back to my closet and pulled out a pair of black cargo pants and a long sleeve black shirt. I tugged the pants on and paused, before crossing back to the cabinet and grabbing another gun to stuff into my waistband. A girl can never have too many accessories, you know. I tugged the shirt on over my head and smoothed it over the gun in the waistband. I preened in the mirror for a minute, making sure nothing showed through the clothes, before I drew my hair back into a ponytail.

I grabbed my pack and headed out to the kitchen. I put in as much food as I dared, and then looked at the clock. It was 2 am. I heated up a microwave dinner for myself, and ate it quickly. I called down to the front desk and asked that my car be brought up. I was ready to start this hunt, ready to move it to the territory of my choosing and ready to grind this man into the ground beneath my heel.

The late night doorman swung the door open for me, and I felt regret, for a moment, that I wasn't going to be able to tell Benny goodbye in person. I asked him to tell Benny that I wouldn't be back for a while, when they saw each other at shift change. He nodded and tipped his hat at me.

I stood on the steps for a moment, swinging my bag back and forth, and breathing in the New York nightlife all around me. I felt Kraven's eyes on me, and refused to look at him until my car roared up next to the curb. I have a Lamborghini that Tony and I have tweaked and, well, gutted and rebuilt, to the point that the only thing that had come from the factory was the shell. It was a _gorgeous_ shell though, made my ride look like sex on wheels. I love my car more than some people love their first-born children.

The door swung up and open and I tossed my bag onto the passenger seat. I put both hands on the roof (I'll admit it, I was posing) and looked right into Kraven's eyes. He looked surprised for a moment that I had spotted him, before that same nasty grin lit up his face. I nodded once, and then dropped into the drivers seat.

While I adjusted the seatbelt, G.A.I.L.'s voice smoothly rung into the interior as my door swung itself closed. G.A.I.L. is my personal computer system, a little like Tony's Jarvis. She's my Girly Artificial Intelligence in the Lamborghini.

"How may I help you this evening, Aleisha?"

"Take me out of the city, headed north on the 87. I'll take over when we're out of the city traffic."

"Of course, Miss Aleisha"

I rested my head back on the headrest, grateful for the tinted windows that would hide my nap from other drivers. I closed my eyes and drifted off, resting my hands on the wheel as my car guided me safely through the manic traffic.

G.A.I.L. woke me up a few times, to roll down the window and pay tolls, but I got enough rest to feel alert when we reached the open road. I love driving on the open road, and due to the lateness of the hour, there were hardly any other cars on the road as I blew down the pavement at incredible speeds. I dictated a few messages to G.A.I.L., telling people I was taking a surprise vacation, and not to contact me before I got in contact with them. I left explicit directions for both the lab and the executives on how not to blow up New York or implode the company's finances before I got back.

I left a message for Tony, too, to be listened to in the event that I hadn't returned in a week and a half. It included where I was going, and why, and the details of how I wanted him to merge our two companies, in the event of my death. I made sure G.A.I.L. encoded it very carefully, so that it couldn't be read before my week and a half were up. I hadn't experienced this kind of a rush in too long. The rush came from the satisfaction of relying on my own wits and strength, and I didn't want it to end too soon.

It's supposed to take 5 and half hours to get to Lake Placid, but I made it in 4. G.A.I.L. popped the door up, and I stepped out with my gun in a two handed hold, in front of my body. I hadn't really expected Kraven to reach the cabin before me, but you can never be too careful. After I swept the area, and felt somewhat reassured that I was in the clear, I freed one hand from the hold on my gun and grabbed my pack with the other. I set G.A.I.L.'s defense systems (more than a simple alarm, though she was equipped with a whistle so loud it would blow out the eardrums of anyone unfortunate enough to touch her) and trudged up to my small log cabin.

I put the pack down next to the door, ready to be grabbed on the way out, and walked through the two-room cabin very quickly. The front room was a kitchen/dining room/living room combo, and I grabbed a small, square inch radio that could pick up on police – and other governmental agencies – frequencies off the kitchen table on my way to the bedroom. I stuffed it into one of my many pockets, and kicked open the bedroom door. My gun went in first, followed by the rest of my body, sweeping left to right. The bed frame went all the way to the floor in one solid oak piece, and was pressed against the wall with the footboard facing the door, so I knew I didn't have to look under it for my new boogeyman, but I did make sure to check behind the armchair. After I knew it was clear, I did the same for the miniscule bathroom.

With that done, I started a fire in the little wood stove I kept in the corner of the room. Next I relaxed back onto the bed, turned on my little radio to listen to the highway patrol, and kept my ears strained for noises coming from the outside. It was springtime, but an unexpected freeze had snuck up on this little community, and the air had a chill to it that kept me awake and aware.

It took him less time than I had hoped, but I heard over the radio that there was a Land Rover speeding towards my cozy little hideout, driven by a tall, barrel chested man with reckless abandon. Kraven was letting himself get very excited about this hunt – I knew I could use that against him.

That was my cue to bug out. I pulled black, warm fingerless gloves I'd found in my chest of drawers over my hands, pulled my pack up high on my back and locked my little cabin up tight – after preparing a few surprises for Kraven, courtesy of some broken light bulbs, gunpowder, and bolts and nails. I set off at a fast pace, choosing to put miles between us rather than try to throw him off my path. I knew that a fresh snowfall that night would confuse his keen tracking senses and buy me the upper hand the next day.

I wasn't able to hike so far away that I couldn't see the puff of smoke that drifted over the trees from my cabin, and it was with a lighter heart and a smile on my face that I began the climb a cliff face that I knew held a cave I could sleep in that night. Hauling myself over the lip that marked the floor of the cave that would shelter me that night, I shivered. I knew I couldn't start a fire, which I regretted as my bare fingertips hit the cold ground. I could feel the cold seeping in through my clothes to my knees, too as I dragged the rest of my body up and over.

I unrolled my sleeping bag by the front of the cave and crawled in quickly after I kicked off my boots. Kraven was probably still down by the cabin, waiting for his healing factor to kick in and correct the horrible burns he must have. I drifted off to sleep with the mental image of a scoreboard: Aleisha 1, Kraven 0


	2. Chapter 6

Chapter 2

I woke the next day with a blistering headache and a sore throat. I fingered the phone in one of my many pockets, debating whether or not to call for reinforcements yet. I had planned on calling S.H.I.E.L.D. to pick him up when I had him trussed up and truly regretting his part in this drama, but if I was sick, I wasn't sure I could take him out as easily as that. As I was beginning to move around though, I told myself I wasn't feeling that poorly. I ate one of my power bars and decided to give it one more day. I had a few hours travel on him, and I could use today to truly confuse and exhaust him.

I had just crawled into the cave and fallen asleep last night, but in the light of day I knew Kraven would be here soon. I took out some wire and… other goodies, and quickly set up another treat for him, before folding everything neatly into the pack again, and setting out.

The pounding in my head quickly faded into the background when I focused on the snow crunching under my boots, and my march was very meditative to me. It also brought back memories, good and bad, of my childhood. An hour and a half into my ramble through the snow, down memory lane, I heard a pop from the direction of my cave, and unexpectedly, the whoosh of snow, rock and dirt falling down the cliff face. He'd moved faster than I'd expected, but he would definitely be held up for a long time. I'd planted the charge towards the back of the cave and he'd probably trapped himself behind the avalanche. I took the chance to start laying false trails for him.

I would wander right, rubbing up against trees and rocks, making sure to leave a strong scent trail, before carefully, carefully walking backwards right back into my footprints and continuing on down my ultimate path. I also climbed high in trees, travelling from branch to trunk to branch to the ground, guaranteed to confuse him when a scent trail would start up. I wished that the weather were warm enough for there to be running water to run through, but my tactics here would be sufficient.

I worked a circuitous route around the peak, which my cave was near, making sure to stay in front of Kraven that day. The next day I planned to come around and behind him, drop him, and call in the troops. A tree with conveniently forked branches was my bed that night, and the minute I'd laid down, the pounding in my head became much worse. Sleep was much more elusive that evening, as a sharp, throbbing pain in my back and sides was added to my list of ills. Sleep had claimed me for only a small time before I woke with a gasp. I had a fever, a bad one, and I knew it was time to call for help. I was terribly sick, and I didn't know why, or how it could have gotten so bad so fast.

Pulling out my phone, I called Tony. My voice was weak against the inferno in my throat, but I managed to choke out my story to him. He cursed at me for calling while he was trying to entertain a lady friend, then he cursed again when I'd told him what was happening, and he was cursing as he hung up. He had my coordinates, from my phone, and his suit would be able to lock on to it. I briefly wondered what he was going to tell his evening's entertainment to appease her, and then realized I didn't care. Huddling lower into my sleeping bag, I was caught off guard when the whole thing was suddenly lifted from my perch.

Kraven's ugly mug scowled down at me, as his arms wrapped around me in the bag and kept me from moving. Shit! I made a show of struggling, but my main aim was to put the phone into a pocket in the thermal layer I was wearing under the cargo pants. The effort quickly wore me out though, and soon I had to stop as white spots floated in front of my eyes and threatened to expand across my whole field of vision. He launched us off the tree and landed squarely with a THUD that jarred me, and knocked me breathless for a moment.

When I could breath again, I quickly regretted it. He had his face next to mine as he worked me out of my sleeping bag and his breath could have knocked out a charging rhino. Finally freed of the bag, I lashed out and gave him an open handed smack on what looked like a hardly healed burn on his temple. He growled – actually growled – and jerked his head back. Fitting my feet against his hips, I shoved hard and succeeded in slipping out of his grasp and to the ground. I scrambled to my feet and started heading away from him, but he reached out with a long arm and snatched the back of my jacket.

I was losing the fight to stay conscious, and the tightening of the collar around my throat wasn't helping. My hands sprang up to clutch at it, but all the scrabbling I did was only scratching up my neck, and the white overtook all of my vision as Kraven began to shake me back and forth.


	3. Chapter 7

Chapter 3

Coming back to consciousness was extremely unpleasant. I was back in my sleeping bag, with my wrists and ankles and knees bound together and all of my weapons and holsters gone. My head was pounding, my stomach was roiling, and being slung over Kraven's broad shoulder was intensifying every bad feeling I had in my body. His harsh gait made my head bounce against his back with every step and intensified my awful dizziness.

So I vomited all down his back and legs.

He cursed – creatively – and dumped me on the path, face-first. I rolled over, but could only groan as the world tilted and swirled around me. My confusion left me too weak even to sit up but at least he wasn't carrying me God only knew where anymore. It was a short-lived victory, since I couldn't get away, or even fight my way out of the bag. Growling again, he retreated off the path and left me lying on the ground. Guess he knew I wouldn't be able to go anywhere by myself.

Some splashing reached my ears, letting me know he was washing in the trickle of water that was still running along, despite the freezing weather. Pulling my hands into the bag, I frantically patted at my hip; feeling for the phone that I desperately hoped hadn't been left behind. It was nowhere to be found in my thermals, but I had a cell phone sized bruise on my hip where it had been. I widened my search then, since I must have gotten that bruise while I was impersonating a sack of potatoes on Kraven.

When I felt it caught in my bra under the thermal top, all the fight fell out of me. Knowing that I had an ace up my sleeve – or rather, in my bust – calmed my mind, so much that I almost passed out again.

But I managed to hover just above unconsciousness. Kraven stamped back to me, looking almost indignant. The thought would have given me the giggles any other time, but now I only had the strength to smirk at him. He snatched me back up, this time holding me in front of him with an arm under my shoulders and his other arm beneath my knees. It was an oddly… romantic way to hold someone that (I assumed) you planned to kill, but the position settled my stomach so well I couldn't bring myself to say anything to him. When he shrugged the arm under my shoulders to bring me closer to his chest, my head was pushed up against his shoulder rather than hanging awkwardly over his arm. More comfortable than I had been in hours, I could no longer fight the sandman, and I drifted off to sleep very soon.

Kraven's chest was rumbling under my head when I woke. It took me a while to realize he was laughing. He set me down into an SUV with my feet dangling out of the door, and drew a gun that he trained on my head. That was enough to snap me back to full consciousness. He kept a casual, relaxed pose, leaning on the roof with his left hand and keeping the weapon pointed straight at my face with his right.

"Come any closer, metal man, and I vill shoot ze lady!" Kraven boomed.

I sat up with wide eyes, and chanced a glance away from the gun to scan the sky for Iron Man. He must have been behind me, but I realized we were back in the clearing where my cabin had once stood. Its remains were still smoldering, showing that this whole farce had really not lasted very long at all. It felt to me as though months and months had gone by since my trip to Broadway though. My car was gone, and I briefly wondered how the hell that could have happened.

"So you hide behind defenseless women now then, Kravinoff?" Tony shouted from behind me.

The word defenseless had me turning to glare at him as best I could, with my feet hanging out of the car and my limbs bound as they were. Iron Man was hovering over the clearing with his arms crossed in front of his chest, not willing to come any closer but letting his mask keep any anxiousness he may have felt in his own confidence. Kraven gave a harsh bark of laughter; close enough to my ear to have me wincing.

"Zee lady is many things, but I think, defenseless is not one of them. How _did_ you manage to locate us, hmmmm?" Kraven was bellowing right in my ear, and my head was protesting, violently. I turned again to glare up at Kraven, who smirked right back at me, but straightened his left arm to retreat a few inches.

Tony let himself drop to the clearing, and his mask opened up to reveal a face creased with worry.

"Let her go, Kravinoff." His voice was deadly serious, but Kraven guffawed as though that was the funniest joke he'd ever heard.

"And vhy should I do zhat? Zee lady, she led me on a glorious hunt! She would have killed a lesser hunter several times over. I have never had such courting as this, and now that I have won her, vell, I think I vill be keeping her!"

My blood froze in my veins. I hadn't envisioned this as his endgame. Kraven was a killer, and as far as I had known nothing else interested him. My head whipped back to meet Tony's startled gaze in time to see his arms fall limply to his sides. Kraven continued.

"I am Kraven Zee Hunter, and I take vhat I vant and destroy what I cannot possess. We are leaving now, metal man, and if you bother us I vill kill her and zhen I vill kill you."

Despite his relaxed posture, both Tony and I knew he wasn't bluffing. The gun trained on my face never wavered once. Kraven pushed off the car and used his free arm sweep my legs up and into the car before he slammed the door shut. The madman walked around the hood of the Land Rover with the gun trained on me the whole time, before he climbed into the drivers seat. Tony's fists kept clenching and unclenching, but fear that hitting Kraven with one of his energy beams would make the hunter shoot me reflexively kept him from acting. Knowing that I was running out of time to act I wrenched my bound hands out of the sleeping bag and lunged for the door handle. I hadn't made it very far before Kraven knocked the gun against my chin snapping my head back quickly. Pain exploded across my face before I passed out for the third time that day. The last thing I heard was Tony yelling something, but I couldn't make out what he'd said before I slumped forward toward the dashboard.


	4. Chapter 8

Chapter 4

We drove for miles before I woke. Kraven hadn't bothered to buckle me in, and when I woke I was more off the seat than on. Not wanting him to know I was awake yet, I kept my eyes closed and tried to take stock of myself. I was still miserably sick – my joints ached, my fever had spiked, and my throat was holding an inferno. Even as I tried to hold still my body was wracked with shivers. Kraven wasn't a man that could be fooled for long, and too soon after I'd woken, he reached down and grabbed the back of my shirt, hauling me back up and onto the seat.

"You smell of sickness, infection." He rumbled at me. Since that was something I already knew, I ignored him to stare listlessly out of my window. Resting my burning head on the cool window felt nice, so I left it there. We rode for what felt like hours in silence, though truth be told, I was so confused by my fever; it could have been merely minutes before we were entering a large compound. The car sped through the only gate in a tall wall that circled the compound at an insane speed, and the doors slammed shut behind us. Kraven spun the wheel quickly, bringing the car to a screeching, sliding halt on the drive. The force had me sliding bonelessly to the floor of the car, too exhausted to catch myself. With manic exuberance, Kraven sprang from the driver's side and sprinted to my side. He opened my door and swung me out of the car. Hanging from his left hand on my collar, gravity slid my sleeping bag to the ground and I was wracked with shivers anew. Kraven slung his right arm around my stomach, clutching me to his chest and keeping me facing away from him and the house.

It was clear why in seconds. Iron Man swung into view, ready to land in front of us. Some sort of force-field dome lanced from the fence, stopping him short. Tony's body thrashed in midair, caught in a net that was only visible around him, and the longer he stayed in it, the more clearly visible – and powerful – it became. After a full minute of this, he was launched back and away – far away, miles, maybe. Iron Man was only a glint in the sky before I had a chance to fully comprehend what had happened. The large chest behind me was shaking violently as Kraven laughed and laughed and laughed. I gaped dumbly at the horizon where my best friend had just been thrown like a tennis ball smacked by a racquet.

"You planned this." I wasn't asking. He had no reason to have a compound like this, with defenses like that unless he was planning to be attacked.

"Oh yes, little bird, I did. Life has become very dull, and you are known to be valuable to zee metal man and his friends. You vere a… surprise. I did not know you would be such fun to hunt."

He had planned to use me as bait, to lure The Avengers here for a brawl… just because he was bored? That was insane! He turned towards the house and started towards the front door. It was heavy and metal, but the rest of the house looked like a log hunting lodge. A very, very large log hunting cabin – it was at least three stories high, and it seemed to have three wings branching off from a main hub in the middle. The doors swung open before we had reached them. Kraven shifted his grip on me back to holding me under my shoulders and knees – like a groom carrying a bride over the doorstep. The thought brought wave nausea over me, which brought with it enough adrenaline for me to start fighting him again. I brought my bound hands up to smack him in the face while I twisted my body out of his grasp. He only grinned though, dropping me on the threshold before I could hit him. There was no time to get another breath in before he drew his leg back and kicked me in the ribs, hard enough that I flew into the entrance hall. His hearty guffaws followed me into the building as he strode in after me. The doors slammed shut behind him.

In short order, he had picked me up again, this time tossing me over his shoulder. The minute my stomach slammed into his shoulder I vomited down his back again. Since I hadn't had anything to eat in hours though, all I lost was painful stomach acid. Kraven never stopped laughing throughout the whole ordeal. He pinned my legs at the knees with his arm, but I kicked as hard as I could at his stomach with my bound feet. As I made a show of my struggle, I was looking everywhere we went, mapping the layout of the lodge mentally. I knew I would need the knowledge when the time came to escape this lunatic.

He carried me straight back into the east wing, There were stairs that went up to the next floors, but we passed under them, continuing to the back of the lodge. There were no doors down this hallway, and the walls were covered in paintings of bloody massacres and exotic animal's heads. What sounded like heavy doors swing open behind me, and as I passed I saw that they were carved with scenes of hunts and… what looked like orgies. Dry heaves wracked my body at the sight, but I had nothing left to expel. Kraven was walking on a blood red carpet now, that seemed plush. His boots sank deeply into it whenever he took a step.

My back hit the bed hard as Kraven dropped me off his shoulder. The room tilted and spun crazily as I tried to get my breathing under control again. He stepped back and simply stared at me. Getting my elbows under myself, I lifted my head and chest.

Meeting his eyes steadied me, enough to ask him, "What next?"

He regarded me from under drawn eyebrows. Nothing was said for a long moment before he stepped back. A team of men and women in white coats swarmed past him, towards me. A rough hand shoved me back and stripped me down to my tank top, and a needle was jabbed into the crook of my elbow. A very neatly put together woman snapped a vial onto the end of it, and I watched as my blood filled it. When that was done, another was snapped into its place. I looked past them to Kraven, who was looming over them with his arms crossed over his massive chest.

"First, you get better." He said. "Zen vee talk about vhat is next."

A thermometer was thrust into my mouth and two fingers pressed to the pulse point in my throat, and my attention was drug back to the doctors. They snapped yet another vial into place – this would be the fifth vial they would take, and I wondered if they would just drain me dry. Kraven obviously had the same thought, and he ordered "No more."

The woman taking the blood tsk'ed, and replied "We can take up to ten of these vials safely, and we want to-"

Back-talking Kraven was a… monumentally stupid thing to do, and the other doctors sucked in air and stepped away from her. If I were able, I would have done the same thing. The stupid woman was just bright enough to realize that the temperature in the room had dropped a few degrees, and she dropped my arm and turned to face Kraven. Another doctor smoothly thrust his hand under my elbow and took over for her.

"Oh, um, sir, I meant no-" She didn't get very far before Kraven viciously backhanded her. His casual violence should have shocked me, but it didn't. My relief that it wasn't me he'd attacked did though. The woman was flung to the floor when he hit her, and she scrabbled out of the room on her hands and knees. The thermometer was yanked out of my mouth as the rest of the doctors continued as though nothing had happened. My gaze was drawn to the clipboard they were passing among themselves as they scribbled on it furiously. The last vial of blood was snapped off the needle, and the needle was drawn out under a strip of gauze.

I was shoved up against a pile of pillows into a sitting position, and then they pulled away to huddle and consult with Kraven. That put a frown on my face – I hadn't had doctors consulting someone other than me about my health since middle school, and it made me angry. Before I could say anything though, Kraven nodded once, and half the doctors came back to me and the other half left the room again. They manhandled my pants and thermals off, leaving me in only my panties and a tank top, and took the phone from me as they pulled off clothes. Luckily they drew the covers out from under me and tucked me under the sheets, leaving my arms out on top of the bedspread. Soon the other doctors returned with a rolling cabinet. They pulled what seemed like a million doohickeys out of it, hooking me up to monitors in the cabinet with stickers and little cables. An IV stand was set up next to the bed and I was stuck with a needle again, this time in the back of my right hand. Another needle was shoved into my bicep, and whatever was in it burned my veins so much I shrieked. Kraven lunged into my field of vision as he grabbed the back of the doctor's white coat. The burn crept up my arm, and I glared at the doctor as I told him

"OW!"

Then blackness overtook my vision, and I fell into the deepest sleep of my life.


	5. Chapter 9

Chapter 5

The sun woke me as it rose. I must have slept through the early evening and whole night. My head lolled to the left and to my unmitigated horror, Kraven was sleeping next to me. As I watched he stretched his massive body and opened his eyes. A grin spread across his face and I felt nausea fill my body. With a lot of effort, I flipped my head to the right. An IV was still in my hand, probably pumping me full of antibiotics, nutrients, and fluids. Despite all the sleeping I'd done, the weariness I felt was nearly a solid thing holding my body in place.

I was jostled unpleasantly, before a beefy, hairy arm was thrown over my waist and Kraven molded himself to my back. Believing he was only looking for me to throw a fit, I bit my lip savagely and didn't say a thing. Nothing sounded better than going back to sleep right now, but that wasn't going to happen with this madman behind me. After a long five minutes, he grew bored and released his grip on my waist, rolling away.

The bed shifted and dipped under Kraven before it sprung back up as he left the bed. He went through a door I assumed led to the bathroom and closed it. Sleep dragged me back down unwillingly and it felt like no time at all before I was blinking my eyes back open to find him at the foot of the bed, naked and dripping wet. My stomach turned again, and if I'd had eaten anything recently I'd have lost it.

"You eat." He rumbled at me before turning away towards a wardrobe. My eyes slammed shut so I wouldn't have the image of his hairy ass burned onto my brain. While they were closed, I drifted again, nearly asleep before a thermometer was rudely shoved into my mouth again. Since wishing I were back home, alone, wasn't working, I opened my eyes to see what was happening. The doctors were back, one of them holding a tray of food hanging towards the back of the pack. My wrist was grabbed while one of them checked my pulse rate with cold fingers, and when he withdrew two of them manhandled me into a sitting position while the tray was dropped over my lap. A little cup full of pills was thrust into my left hand and a doctor with a glass of water hovered nearby. I stared down at the cup full of medicine I couldn't identify, but was clearly expected to down on command, and almost on it's own my hand jerked to the cup to the left and the pills spilled across the bedspread away from me.

Kraven (mercifully wearing clothes) appeared at my side of the bed, before I'd even realized he was still in the room. His massive hand grabbed my lower jaw, enveloping the entire lower half of my face. His other hand snatched the pill closest to him, and he wrenched my mouth open before thrusting the one pill into my mouth. The nasty bitterness of an antibiotic exploded across my tongue, but I glared at him while making no move to swallow it. His craggy face moved closer to mine.

"You take medicine. You eat." He snarled at me. My eyebrow arched high, expressing disdain I couldn't vocalize. He responded by moving even closer.

"You take medicine. You eat." His voice was less angry, but very firm. His hot breath was brushing over my nose, and though he'd obviously brushed his teeth with something minty, there was a rancid tone to his breath that no toothpaste could reasonably be expected to quash completely. My eyes were starting to water from it.

When I made no move to swallow the pill, he surprised me by dropping the hand he had over my mouth. Then quicker than a rattlesnake, he lunged forward and pressed his lips to mine. Reflexively, I gasped, and the pill shot down my windpipe. Kraven moved back as I coughed, getting spit on his face. He didn't seem to care. The smirk on his face as I hacked the pill out of my lungs was _maddening_. I wanted nothing more than to wipe it – and him – off the face of the earth. The pill finally came up, and I spit it out onto the bedspread.

"You take medicine. You eat. Or I give more kisses." Kraven was still smirking. Unfortunately, being a genius has never stopped me from making stupid decisions, and I snarled at him. He was out to humiliate me, doing this in front of the doctors, but the only shame I would have felt was if I let him scare me into doing something. I hadn't felt fear since I was a child, and I would be _damned_, many times over, before I let him make me feel that weak. I lashed out and knocked the table off my lap.

"Fuck you Kraven. I want no part of this bull_shit_." My voice was weaker than I wanted, and that sore throat I'd had before felt like it was ripping the inside of my throat and mouth to bloody shreds but rage was giving me strength for the moment. "You fucking touch me again – _any of you fucking touch me again_ – and you'll pull back a stump. Go away."

Kraven's face contorted as he scowled for a nanosecond before a big grin lit across his stupid face.

"This is my home." He sounded more gleeful than I'd ever heard him. "You cannot send me away from my own bedroom." He leaned closer again, planting a fist on either side of my legs. "And you are very sick, too sick, I think, to follow through on these threats." He continued to lean forward, settling his palms flat on the bed, still not touching me but so far inside my personal space that it was only a matter of time. "Little bird, I think it is time that you learned – you do not give orders here."

He pressed his lips against mine again, and slid his arms over mine, trying to trap them. My head snapped back, smacking sharply against the headboard. He followed and slammed his face against mine. His arms collapsed and his massive chest came to rest on me. It was awkward, and painful, meant only to prove dominance over me. It held nothing of the sweetness kisses are supposed to have. I wrenched my head to the left, and broke the contact with his lips at the same time I brought up my right arm. Keeping my arm over my head I curled a little more to the left. His chest shook with his laughter, and he dropped more of his immense weight on me. My teeth gritted together so hard my jaw ached, and I maneuvered my left had until it was free from under my torso. I grabbed the bottom sheet with it, and pulled hard. Luckily I was the one to move instead of the sheets, and I popped out from under Kraven, and his torso met the mattress, though he was still on my legs. Before he could regain the upper hand I dropped my right elbow straight onto his right eye, putting all of the weight I could into it. He finally stopped his chuckling and bellowed in pain. My response was to lean a little further into his eyeball, finally twisting my legs out from under him. My left leg angled away from my body as I braced hard against it, and I started to feel like I could really pop his eye.

He lashed out with his left arm and knocked me away from him before I could finish the job. I rolled with the momentum and slid off the far edge of the bed. As I took my feet white sparkles at the edge of my vision warned me I was coming close to passing out. The adrenaline was keeping me going for now but it was only a matter of moments before my limits would be reached. The doctors scattered as Kraven staggered to his feet on the other side of the bed, cradling his eye. Neither of us made a move for a long moment, before Kraven relaxed. He thought that because he was between the door, and me he had me caught. Any other girl and he might have been right, but I am a visionary and I could see exits where others would see walls and windows. I snatched the lamp off the nightstand and turned. Momentum brought the lamp with me and I released it to fly through the giant window that took up the whole side of the room. I was already running towards the window before it had shattered completely. Glass on the carpet cut into my bare feet before I launched myself through the opening, and it cut my back as I slid across it on the grass outside. My right hand pushed against the ground as I was still sliding and with a flex of my arm I found my feet and started running without any break in forward momentum. The fence was my goal.

The sky was gray and overcast, and the grass still frozen. I had no idea how far I could get in weather like this with no pants on or tech to communicate with anyone. To make things worse, the white at the edges of my vision was threatening to drag me down. Movement in the trees caught my attention, and I felt my jaw drop at the sight of a familiar man in yellow latex crouched on a branch. Relief followed my surprise, that there were people outside trying to get in to me, as I was trying to get out into the world again. The force field must have been on all the time, if they couldn't get in here though, which meant I had to find the computer controlling it and destroy it. My eyes started raking over the inside wall of the fencing, hoping a control panel would be on it. My feet carried me towards the gate we'd come in to, on the hunch the panel would be there. The yellow suit somehow melted into the shadows as Kraven came through the window well behind me. He would gain ground quickly, and I needed to move fast to have time to disable the fence.

The panel was about three feet into the fence from the gate opening. I dashed across the gravel driveway barefoot, and hardly felt the little stones beneath my feet. The door to the panel was easily wrenched open, and I was surprised by the sophistication of the system. Rather than a series of switches as I'd anticipated, a screen and a small number touchpad were behind the metal door. More complicated, but nothing I couldn't handle given a sufficient amount of time. I cracked my fingers quickly and my fingers began flashing along the keypad, and then the screen. Kraven was getting close, when an explosion cracked with only a flinch from me to show I'd heard the boom.

The field was weakening, and another explosion rocked the compound right over Kraven's head again. He started moving towards me, and the explosions started coming faster, along with a sustained attack from what looked like lasers. They weren't helping to bring the shield down directly, but as long as they were distracting Kraven I wouldn't complain. Too bad Kraven realized they couldn't reach him. He started running at me, and I quickly entered the best program I had time to cobble together. It wouldn't bring the fence down soon enough to get out today, but it would weaken it over the next few hours. Just as I entered the last of the code I was tackled away from it. Kraven landed heavily on top of me and knocked all the air from my lungs. He snapped to his feet and brought me with him by my throat. I couldn't stay conscious for even the amount of time it took him to get to his feet – the white swallowed me whole as I dangled from his hand, and became black as I welcomed it.


	6. Chapter 10

Chapter 6

Kraven slamming me into a bed rocked me back to consciousness suddenly. The rage on his face was worrying, but the knowledge that I could get out of there – soon – was a tangible relief. That relief was short lived though. Kraven smashed his face towards mine again, but kept an inch between us. He wanted me to simmer in his anger. When I didn't react, only staring blankly back at his face, he put his giant hand on my right knee, and closed his fingers around it completely.

He started squeezing, sending sparks of pain shooting up and down my leg. A frown crossed my forehead and Kraven's snarl deepened. I got my hands beneath my hips and started pulling back away from him, but his grip strengthened. Snapping and popping noises started coming from beneath his grip and the pain intensified many times over. The blood drained from my face and I started gasping as though that might help with the pain. From past experience I knew the screaming would start soon. My eyes started darting around the room looking for a way out, and I realized we were in a room I'd never seen before. It was dark, with no windows, and utilitarian. The only furniture was the bed I was on, made of a dark wood.

My hands snapped out from behind me and up to his face, pushing at it. That was a mistake, I knew it as I did it but there was no stopping myself. Kraven's teeth were bared fully as he pushed and twisted my knee at the same time, basically destroying it with a gut wrenching wet snap. Screams erupted from my mouth as the agony hit my nerves fully. Tears sprang from my eyes, and the gasping breaths I took between screams could maybe, perhaps, have been mistaken for sobs. Kraven pulled back fully from me, and I was left hunched over my ravaged knee, unable to touch it but unwilling to leave it unprotected.

"See if you run NOW, bird." He sounded so angry, but maybe also… betrayed? I was in no frame of mind to analyze that. He moved to the only door, which was ajar, and swung it open.

"Doctors!" he bellowed. He left without another word and the doctors anxiously filed in. The screaming had stopped but my breathing was ragged, uneven, and definitely not getting oxygen to my brain. A doctor pushed at my shoulder and I was forced back away from my knee, and a pillow was shoved beneath it to keep elevation. My head flopped back onto the mattress as I tried to get my breathing under control.

When I had more control of myself, I started to hear what the doctors were murmuring around my bed. Pneumonia and strep throat were discussed among them. That was what they had diagnosed me with, and I couldn't disagree. They weren't going to treat my knee though. No compression, no cast, no ice even. They all agreed if Kraven had put the injury there himself, he wanted it to last. An IV was inserted in my arm, filled with the antibiotics they'd tried to give me in pill form, and they left me all alone. Moving at all was agony, so I lay on the hard mattress, trying to think of anything but the pain or my other discomforts. An hour or so of rebuilding every robot I'd ever made in my imagination and mentally recombining the chemicals I'd put together into new and different fuels and energy sources, and I was ready to pull my own hair out. The sharp throbbing in my leg cut through any attempt I made to pass the time easier. Finally, as I starting reciting pi to as many decimals as I had memorized, I drifted into a fitful sleep.

When I woke, an unknown amount of time later, my fever had finally broken and I felt much healthier. The doctors were back in the room to assist me with all the needs I should have had addressed earlier in the day, and I went along with everything they were doing. The sponge bath I got was quite a relief, and my vanity was appeased by a woman who brushed out my long, curly hair and pulled it tight into a bun. They all did their best not to jostle my leg, but no one made any moves to treat it either. I took the pills and syrups they put in my hands this time – they thought because Kraven had convinced me to be meek. In reality, I knew I needed every bit of health I could get, to be able to assist in my own rescue.

They left, and Kraven came in. He stood by the door arms crossed over his broad chest and leaned on the wall. Neither of us said a word for long, awkward minutes. I soon grew bored with this and moved my eyes towards the ceiling. '_How I wish a drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy lectures involving quantum mechanics, 3.14159265359…'_

"You eat." He said. I rolled my eyes, but otherwise didn't argue. Kraven didn't move, but a little mousy man in white brought in a tray with soup on it. Once I sat up and the spoon was in my mouth Kraven started talking.

"You have friends around my fence. Zhey are trying to break through, but they vill not. The fence is too strong." Well, that's what he thought. "I vill kill them all vhile you vatch, and you vill know I am zee strongest man in the world. You cannot run from me. I vill always have you."

I asked, "Why?" in between sips. I didn't really care why, I knew that I would get away from him soon, but I've always had an inquisitive mind.

"I vas paid, to steal you away. To scare you," he started. I hadn't expected that answer, and the surprise showed when I whipped my head to face him. "I have been bored of late, so I took zee money. And zhen you vere… zee best voman I have ever hunted. You are smart, you understood zee game, my game, and I cannot let you go. You are zee most worthy voman, little bird, I have ever met and you will be my wife and give me sons. I have caught you and you are mine now."

Well now I cared. "Someone _paid_ you?" I asked, incredulous.

"Yes."

"_Who?_"

Kraven shrugged, as though he didn't care, which, I suppose, he didn't. A new pounding started in my head, and I set down the soupspoon to rub my forehead, as though that would take away my frustrations. An unknown conductor of this shitstorm orchestra was the last thing I wanted.

"Eat."

"I'm done." Food was the last thing on my mind now. Instead of arguing, Kraven nodded, and the little drab man came and took away the tray. I collapsed back on the bed, and as I relaxed, I felt the lodge rattle a little bit. Kraven grunted, uncrossed his arms and left without a word, closing the door behind him. I noticed that there wasn't a handle on my side of the door. With some careful maneuvering I was under the blanket I'd been provided. There had been a sedative in the soup, but since I knew of no other way I'd get the sleep I desperately needed I'd eaten enough to knock me out pretty quickly. The sharp throbbing in my knee nagged at me, but whatever drug it was they'd given me made me feel like I was floating above the pain, and I drifted off in seconds. The doctors woke me too soon for my liking to tinker with my IV and take my temperature. I was getting better – the fever and it's accompanying confusion and aches were gone, and while my throat was still raw I could attribute that to the screaming I'd done earlier.

A huge explosion rocked the lodge right after my IV bag had been changed. The doctors stumbled around for a moment, before all bailing out of the room, leaving the door wide open. Without a window, I had no way to know what time it was, so I didn't know if my fence killing virus had had time to do it's job. I ripped the IV from my arm and ignoring the agony from my leg, threw the blanket to the side and sat up on the side of the bed.

"'Ello, Belle. We come ta rescue ya. De Iron Man send us."

I looked up at the doorway and felt my heart skip a beat as the most beautiful man I'd ever seen winked at me.


	7. Chapter 11

Chapter 7

The stunningly handsome man raked his red on black eyes over me (I was still only wearing a tank top and panties, so he got an eyeful), before angling his body so that he was facing the doorway and able to keep an eye on me as well. He pressed two fingers to his ear and muttered, "I got de girl. Nort' wing, top floor. Be ready Rogue, we could be makin' our own doors."

Getting to my feet was easy, but taking any steps to reach my rescuer wasn't going to happen.

"My knee." I ground out. "He broke my knee."

He touched his ear again. "She caint walk. Gonna have'ta carry her out. Can ye cover me, Wolverine?"

That was a name I recognized, and while it would be a headache to see him again, it would be a relief to have him at my back. If he wasn't too pissed about the last time we'd met.

His long legs crossed the room to me in three steps, and he swept his trench coat off and draped it over my shoulders. His long fingers dipped into one of the pockets and drew out a fistful of cards that he pressed into my hands. He stood beside me with his left arm draped casually around my shoulders. I appreciated his effort to appear calm and unaffected, but leaning against his side I could feel that he was drawn tight as a bow, ready to spring if anyone tried to come through the door.

My own muscles tensed when Wolverine filled the door. I saw his nostrils flare and he gave a start as he recognized me. Quickly, I juggled the cards into my right hand and flashed my left index finger over my mouth in the universal sign for "sssshhh!". His eyebrows arched up beneath his mask. As my leaning post glanced down at me I turned the movement into a frantic scratching of my nose, hoping not to arouse any suspicion in him.

"M'name's Gambit, and dis is de Wolverine. We a part o' de X-Men, and we gonna get you outta here." Wolverine smirked at me, and unsheathed some wicked looking metal claws from his hands.

"Well, what're ya waitin' for, Gumbo? Lets get a move on." Wolverine said, as he turned to look both ways out the door.

Gambit slid his left arm a little further down my back as he stooped beside me and hesitated a moment with his right arm behind my knees.

"M'sorry, Belle, dis gonna hurt." He sounded chagrined about that.

"Do it." I spit out before gritting my teeth tight. Screaming would have drawn attention to us, not to mention been terribly embarrassing in front of Wolverine.

Gambit stood quickly, and I nearly passed out from the pain of my swollen knee bending over his arm. The breath I'd drawn hissed out between my clenched teeth, but I didn't pass out, scream, or wet myself, so I felt oddly triumphant. At least, I did until Gambit started walking. His gait felt unbearably bouncy, and every step felt like searing fire ripping up and down my leg.

I had no idea why I was holding playing cards, but they provided me something to focus on besides the pain, for which I was grateful. Wolverine was beside us, walking in a crouch with his claws out and every sense straining to catch any movement around us. There was fighting happening outside the building, that much I could hear, but the inside of the lodge was surprisingly empty.

They were moving quickly, and we soon approached the middle of the lodge, the big room that all the wings branched off of. If I strained my neck, I could see out of the windows on the walls, and despite the darkness outside what I saw was pretty unbelievable.

"Um. Are those… dinosaurs?" I asked nervously.

"Yup." Replied Wolverine. There was a long pause after that as they kept moving, and not elaborating.

"Ok. How are there dinosaurs out there fighting X-Men?" If I sounded a little testy, it was because my leg was killing me.

"Kravinoff's spent some time in the Savage Lands." Wolverine snapped at me. He didn't need to say any more. Kraven's mutant abilities allowed him some control over animals, and if he'd collected a menagerie from the Savage Lands we were going to have a terribly difficult time getting out.

"Did I hear my name?" Kraven's voice floated up the stairs we were about to descend. He sounded delighted.

"You want some sweet revenge, Belle?" Gambit whispered to me. I nodded so quickly I almost knocked his forehead with mine. Suddenly, one of the cards in my hands started to glow pink. I dropped the rest onto my stomach and picked it up. Holding it in my hand made the hairs on my arm stand straight up, and my fingers tingle.

"First we charge de card…" At his words, a grin that felt wicked even to me spread over the entire lower half of my face.

"Den we t'row de card." My gaze snapped away from the glowing Queen of Diamonds to lock onto Kraven's form. I moved the card to between my index and middle finger, grinning broadly the whole time. Kraven put his hands on his hips and laughed.

"What does zee little bird think she vill do vith this card? Give me a paper cut?"

Truthfully, I had only a faint idea of what the card would do, but if Gambit was excited about it, I was excited about it. With a snap of my wrist, it flew true, straight at Kraven's head. When it was inches from him, it blew up. This wasn't a tiny pop, roman candles kind of explosion either, but a foundation shaking, dust raising, action thriller movie kind of an explosion and I _loved_ it. Kraven disappeared in the flames and smoke for a moment, and when they cleared he had staggered back. Blood poured from his head and his feet and arms were braced wide. Frustration welled up in my chest bringing a snarl to my lips, furious that he wasn't at least knocked onto his ass.

Kraven shook his head, flinging blood all around him, and then his eyes moved to where we were at the top of the stairs. He started to move up them, towards us, slowly at first and then picking up speed as he neared us.

Gambit retreated a few steps.

"Grab m'neck." He ordered. I wrapped my arms tight around his neck and his left arm behind my back slipped down towards my hip and snaked over my stomach to grab the cards resting there. He moved his arm back up and I loosened my hold. Gambit caught Wolverine's eye and jerked his head towards the floor to ceiling window. Wolverine got a nasty smirk on his face, one that I had seen before, and worry started to niggle at me as he nodded once.

"Rogue." Wolverine said, touching his ear.

Gambit didn't wait for a reply, and moved towards the window, but Wolverine got there first. Wolverine punched the glass, claws first, and it all shattered and fell out of the frame. Gambit never stopped moving towards the new opening and I realized that he meant to jump out of the window. I tightened my hold on his neck again, drawing in a deep breath to prepare for a long fall and a hard landing.

But as we reached the opening, he dropped his arms down, breaking my hold on his neck as he turned his torso to the side. He braced his left foot against the frame, swung back to face the outside and _threw me out of the window_. He launched me pretty far from the window, away from the building and I howled in anger as I reached the zenith of his toss and gravity started to drag me towards the ground – and a nasty impact.


	8. Chapter 12

Chapter 8

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

I couldn't believe that man had just tossed me out of the window! How dare he! The absurd urge to cross my arms and pout came over me, but flailing impotently and screaming won out.

Before I hit the ground, a flying woman with a white streak in her hair caught me in a cradle hold. As my knee bent over her arm I sucked air into my lungs with a nasty wet gasp. She'd managed to catch my legs bare of the coat, and it dangled freely in the wind, leaving my ass covered only by a thin, thin layer of underwear. I felt exposed.

"Sorry I was a little late sugah, but we'll getchya outa here." More southern accents! Bah and humbug on them all!

"Hmph." I said, crossing my arms and sulking. She smiled at me, though, despite my childish behavior and floated up above the lodge. Explosions and yelling came from the house, and what I thought was a velociraptor was jumping up and down below us, freaky shrieks cutting through the dark night sky. It sounded an awful lot like an eagle screaming continuously. A woman wearing all white swooped from the sky to join us.

"We need to leave now, Rogue." She said. She had a great, regal voice. "Getting her out is our only objective." She touched her chest. "Ready the Blackbird, Scott. We have the girl. However, Gambit and Wolverine are still inside."

"Rodger that Storm."

"You know that com makes it seem like you have a talking boob, right?" I asked. Storm shot me a disdainful look, but Rogue chuckled.

"You got some sass in ya, girly." Rogue said.

"I'm still not over that asshole throwing me out a third story window, I guess."

"He takes some people that way."

"Hmph." Came my intelligent reply.

A screech surprised all three of us, and a giant pterodactyl swooped up in front of us. Rogue somehow managed to jump in surprise – quite a feat in midair – and the pain made me clench my fists. A second screech came from over Rogue's shoulder. Hoping that the X on Rogue's boob was also a com, I pressed a finger to it.

"We've got some trouble!" I yelled.

"Flyin' dinos!" Rogue added

"Gotcha. Headed your way." Wolverine's gruff voice answered us. I took my finger off the X.

"I don't know why you put up with boob coms." I observed calmly. "I wouldn't have let that come off the drawing board."

"Seemed like a good idea at the time." Rogue started flying higher, and making sweeping circles over the house. Storm stayed behind and wind started swirling around her, and clouds formed above her head.

"The guys get ear coms." I said.

Rogue sharply dropped over the house, and I groaned as she suddenly stopped, floating about even with the second floor.

"Sorry sugah… Cyclops has a chest com." She said.

The pterodactyl shot over our heads, close enough that our hair whipped around our faces. There was some strange screaming from below us, and I glanced down just in time to see Wolverine gut a velociraptor. Another one lay in pieces not far from him. The pterodactyl that had followed us had finally managed to turn and was coming back to us when all the hair on my body stood straight out. That was the only warning we got before a bolt of lightning shot out of a cloud and struck the dinosaur. It dropped onto the roof with a massive THUD, and lay motionless.

That still left one pterodactyl menacing the flyers in the dark. Rogue turned to see where it was, just as it knocked Storm with a massive wing. She staggered (again, an impressive feat in midair) before falling.

"No!" Rogue yelled.

"Right here!" yelled Wolverine

"No!" I yelped, but my protests fell on deaf ears. My snatching hands grabbed only air as Rogue dropped me and moved to save Storm.

"Son of a _bitch_!" I yelled as I fell towards the ground for the second time in ten minutes. Inches from the ground, Wolverine tackled me, diverting my momentum and softening my landing – slightly. I lay panting through the pain underneath him for a minute, clutching at his shoulders. He'd opened some of my cuts from going through the window yesterday and the stinging wasn't helping my foul mood.

"_Mother_fucker, you people fucking _suck_ at rescues!"

"We're gettin' the job done." Wolverine was smirking at me again.

"Why the fuck isn't Tony here!?" I demanded.

"Breakout from a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison, I think. Maybe aliens again." Wolverine didn't sound terrible concerned.

"Ugh." Couldn't really blame him for not being here, then, but I was still planning on giving him a piece of my mind later.

"So you're some famous big-shot scientist princess, huh?" He asked as he took his feet in a crouch over me. His head swiveled back and forth, looking for something as I snatched the edges of Gambit's coat closed around me.

"Uh huh." I said.

He glanced down at me and raised an eyebrow.

"How'd you get mixed up with Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D then?"

"Can we talk about that later?" I asked, exasperated. We were so freaking close to getting out of my own personal hell, and this clown wanted to talk about the past.

"Long story?" He wasn't looking at me any more, but was staring intently through the dust and smoke surrounding the lodge.

"Very." I said firmly.

Gambit came flying out of the cloud of debris, rolling on the ground a few times before he popped up onto his feet. He already had cards in his hand charged pink, and he threw them all into the cloud. Another loud explosion rocked the ground I sat on and lit up the darkness.

"Up ya go." Wolverine grabbed me as he straightened, and slung me across his shoulders in a fireman's carry. Gambit's bouncy gait seemed like a cakewalk compared to Wolverine's jog, and every step was pure agony as I bounced and jostled against his arms and chest and thick neck. A big black jet flew over the grounds, and hovered over the driveway. It shot a series of lasers at the remaining pterodactyl, stunning it long enough for Rogue to get hold of it. She turned a tight little circle, winding up, before launching it far, far away. She flew low, snagging Storm off the ground as she headed towards the jet. It turned to face away from the lodge and landed on the driveway, opening a bay door in the back. Rogue touched down, putting Storm on her feet and facing us as we came closer.

As Wolverine ran up the ramp to the jet I looked back to see Gambit stoop to snatch Storm over his broad shoulder without breaking his stride. Rogue ran behind him, and the jet started to lift off even before the bay door closed. Though it was probably just my imagination, over the roar of the jets lifting I thought I could hear Kraven's screams of rage. Either way, a big, stupid broad grin took over the lower half of my face as I watched the ground get further away, before the door closed with a hiss.

Wolverine slid me down his front, and soon I was standing on my left foot, clutching at his shoulders for balance as the plane bobbed and weaved through the sky. He was only a few inches taller than me, so we were nearly eye-to-eye. My exhaustion finally hit me, and with a sigh I wrapped my arms loosely around his neck and rested my forehead on his shoulder. His arms came around my waist over the coat and his hands rubbed reassuringly up and down my back, somehow avoiding the cuts there.

"So do you still think we 'suck' at rescues?" His jab was lightened by his talented hands, so I laughed.

"Yes. Worst extraction I've ever been a part of."

"An' how many rescues you been party to?" Gambit asked. He sounded like he was somewhere behind Wolverine, so I propped my chin onto his shoulder.

"Not many. Certainly none where some jerk threw me out a window." I said, meeting his wonderfully odd eyes.

Wolverine chuckled, so I pinched him lightly on his shoulder blade. His hands stopped rubbing and I made a small noise of disappointment. He huffed a laugh into my ear.

"Do we have any patients back here?" A jovial voice asked from behind me.

"Right here." Wolverine said. He leaned back, breaking my loose hug around his neck, and spun me on my left foot to face a large blue furry man. I brought my right hand up to wave at him.

"Hey Hank!" I greeted him cheerfully.

"My goodness, Aleisha!" He sounded scandalized. My face melted into a scowl.

"I don't look that bad, do I?" I asked.

"Oh, my dear! You are stunningly beautiful as always, but, er…" Hank stammered.

"Ya look like ya got run over a cheese grater." Wolverine said bluntly.

"Only on my back!" I protested.

"Yer neck's all scratched up."

"Oh yeah. Stupid Kraven kept grabbing me around the throat."

Wolverine reached around me and raised my tank top's hem. When I looked down my hip was a nasty mess of black, green, and purple. Hank almost whimpered with empathetic distress. Gambit walked around to see what they were looking at and grimaced.

"Cell phone." I said, shrugging. "Had it in my pocket when he dragged me out of the woods."

Careful to keep from exposing my breasts, Wolverine pulled the tank top higher to see my ribs. They looked just as bad as my hip – some of them must have been cracked, and most of them were bruised from Kraven kicking me over the doorstep.

"How the hell do you know exactly where I'm hurt?" I asked, annoyed.

"Can smell it. Can see you flinchin', too."

"There's no way you can smell bruises." I challenged him, twisting my head around to glare at him.

He merely grinned, quickly, and dropped my tank top back over my stomach.

Hank cleared his throat, catching our attention again.

"Do any of those cuts require stitches?" He asked politely.

"Naw," I said, "There was a whole team of doctors there, and they would have stitched me up if I needed it."

"I t'ink we saw dem fleein' de scene on our way in." Gambit said.

"Like rats off a sinking ship." Wolverine growled.

"They better run fast." I said, "Kraven's not gonna be happy they cut out like that."

There was a silent moment where everyone absorbed that.

"Well, what did they treat?" Hank asked finally.

"Pneumonia and strep throat." I said. "And they kept sedating me."

"What antibiotic were they using to treat for the pneumonia?" Hank asked.

"How's she 'posed to know dat?" Gambit asked, surprised.

"Telithromycin." I said. Gambit threw me a surprised look, and I tapped my temple and winked at him. Hank nodded, looking thoughtful.

"I was only on it for two days there. I'll need to continue it for a few more at least. You have it on hand, Hank?"

"Of course, back at the med lab." He said. "What about that knee?"

I was quiet for a long moment. Wolverine's hands were still resting on my waist, steadying me, and I laid my hands on his.

"It's never going to 100% again." I said finally. Wolverine crossed his arms across my stomach and I rested my elbows on his hairy forearms. "I'm not even sure I'll be able to walk without a cane when it heals as much as it will." I leaned back against his chest and looked up at the ceiling, the corners of my lips drawn down at the thought. "Kraven broke it to keep me from running from him, and it looks like I'll never run to or from anyone ever again." I bit my lip to keep it from quivering. I'd never skip down a sidewalk to the mall again, never ride my beautiful horses again, never bounce my precious baby cousins on my knee again. There were probably 4 or 5 surgeries in the immediate future for me, and months and months of physical therapy.

Finally I asked "Can I sit down?"

"Of course, my dear. My apologies, I should have offered you a seat earlier."

Wolverine slipped his head under my left arm and wrapped his arm around me. He popped me up onto his hip and awkwardly walked to the last row of seats. I was settled on one seat facing sideways towards the next, with a pillow under my leg and a cold compress on my knee. Wolverine and Hank retreated to the back of the jet again muttering a conversation, and Gambit sat on the floor in front of me. He had his legs crossed Indian style with his back resting on the seat in front of me. I tugged his coat tighter around myself, snuggling into it. Now that I had a quiet moment, I noticed how good the coat smelled. Spicy, and a little musky, it was as though someone had bottled masculinity and it was a scent a girl could get addicted to. Gambit had closed his eyes for a moment but they popped open as I shifted in my seat.

"Need somet'ing Belle? Nother pillow, mebbe?"

I shook my head no and rested it sideways against the seat back.

"Hank keeps pain meds on de jet. Need any a'dose?"

I pulled a face, and Gambit's clouded a little.

"Sorry, sorry, no wonder you don't want none a'dat. Stupid, Gambit." He looked like he would have kicked himself. I couldn't stop myself from reaching out and grasping his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. I didn't like heavy-duty painkillers before this. I'm fine."

"No, ya not fine." He said. He put his hand over mine on his shoulder. "Ya been t'rough a lot Belle. You eva need ta talk, you can come to Gambit." He was staring into my eyes so earnestly I melted a little more.

"On one condition." I said.

"What's dat?" He asked.

"No more throwing me out windows."

He tossed his head back as he laughed uproariously.

"I cain't promise nothin, Belle, but I'll do m'best." He was still laughing, and I grinned right along with him. His joi de vivre was infectious, and I couldn't imagine not smiling when he was happy.

"We're coming in for a landing. Everyone buckle up." The pilot ordered from the front of the jet. Gambit made no move to get in a seat, but Wolverine and Hank strapped in tight, keeping their heads bent together as they talked. I raised an eyebrow at Gambit.

"Not gonna buckle up Cajun?" I inquired.

"Don't wanna move jus' yet Belle." He leaned forward and connected the seatbelt across my hip. It was awkward since I was seated sideways but we managed it together. He settled back against the seat behind him again, resting his arms on the front of my seat.

"Landing in 10…9…8…"

"Cyke'll bring us down gentle anyway. He jus' a worrywart."

"If you say so…" I trailed off uncertainly. Glancing outside, the young sunrise helped me to see that we were flying towards a cliff with an opening to the hanger in it. I'd seen stranger stuff in Tony's house though, and no one else was nervous so I looked back at Gambit.

We did touch down so lightly I hardly felt it, and Gambit grinned at me.

"See? Nut'in to worry 'bout." I blushed and my smile back was twisted.

"Guess you were right." I admitted. The bay door opened on the ship, and people started bustling and hustling around us, familiar faces leaving and new faces coming but Gambit and I kept our eyes locked on each other, smiling softly.


	9. Chapter 13

Chapter 9

Hank had left the jet, and came back with a wheelchair. Luckily it fit right next to the seat I was in, the space Gambit had been occupying for the last bit of the trip. I lifted myself over the arm of the wheelchair and Hank carefully shifted my right leg onto an extension of the chair that stuck straight out in front. Gambit got behind me and maneuvered the chair out into the aisle and down the ramp. We were met by another man in a chair.

"Hey Xavier, we match!" I called out.

He chuckled as his hover chair pulled even with me and turned so we were facing the same way.

"If you really want one to match mine, you are perfectly capable of building your own." Charles remarked.

"I know, I built yours, didn't I?" I smiled.

"Indeed, indeed." He agreed.

"Didn't know de two of you knew each odder." Gambit said. I tilted my head back to see him and smiled.

"I know a lot of people. Charles and I go pretty far back. He's usually the most interesting man at the charity galas I'm forced to attend monthly."

"Forced, ha!" Charles laughed gaily. "You love the charities and you know it."

"I'd rather give time and money without the publicity!" I protested. "I'm dragged from person to person as a photo op at those things, so that those dullards will dig a little deeper into their pockets. They're awful people."

"You usually ignore them pointedly," Charles pointed out, "and spend your time with whomever you choose." I wrinkled my nose and stuck my tongue out at him, making him laugh again.

I hadn't been paying attention to where we were, which is very unusual for me. We reached the med lab too quickly, and I whipped my head right to left, trying to map out where we were. A tendril of worry tickled at my chest. Charles rested his hand on mine for a moment, drawing my gaze to him.

"I'll give you the grand tour when Hank is done with you. I promise." He said with a kind smile.

I relaxed a little and smiled back. Charles nodded his head once, and continued down the hallway past the door Gambit and I went through, leading to what looking like a hospital.

Hank appeared wearing his lab coat now.

"Gambit, if you could help Miss West-Warthington into a bed?" He asked, as he scribbled on a clipboard.

With a minimum of hissing and gasping on my part I was transferred to the bed furthest from the door. Gambit kept his jaw clenched, flinching every time I made a noise. I had made sure to avoid sitting on the coat, and when I was on the bed I slipped the sleeves down my arms and passed it to Gambit.

"Thank you. It's a lovely coat, but a little large on me." I smiled at him as I situated a sheet over my legs.

He cracked a small, distracted smile at that.

"Ya are a little on da short side, Belle." I wrinkled my nose at him again, sticking my tongue out at him.

"You just think that 'cause you're tall." He finally let himself grin fully.

"'Dat don't mean ya ain't short. Even de Wolverine was taller den ya."

I gasped playfully. "Take that back! I'm at least as tall as Wolverine!" I protested.

"No yer not." The man in question entered the room.

"I was slouching. That's why it looked like you might be taller than me." I argued with a little smile on my face.

"Yer barely five feet." Wolverine said with a derisive snort. Gambit barked a laugh as well.

"I'll have you know I was once measured at five feet two inches!" I exclaimed.

"And I'm taller n' that, so hush." Wolverine shot back. I pouted but stayed quiet since Hank had come back.

"Ya need me ta leave, Beast?" Gambit asked. I couldn't stop the look of horror that crossed my face at the name. Gambit frowned with confusion but Hank chuckled.

"That is my chosen mutant moniker, Aleisha. Gambit was not being disrespectful."

I clapped my hand over my heart, not terribly reassured.

"You're no beast Hank. You're the most civilized man I've ever met, save maybe for Charles."

Hank smiled broadly.

"My many thanks for your compliments, but there are times when the name fits, Aleisha."

I frowned, but didn't argue any more.

"As to your earlier inquest, Gambit, that is up to Aleisha here."

I caught Gambit's wrist, and said "Stay, please. You too, Wolverine."

"I had already asked Wolverine to stay, actually." Beast said. "I wanted to discuss something about him with you."

Now my eyebrows shot up towards my hairline.

"I had… in the past, tinkered with samples from Wolverine. I was hoping to separate his mutant power, and perhaps engineer from it a formula to cure many ills."

I sucked air over my teeth and let my eyes grow wide.

"I thought his mutation was the giant metal claws that come out of his knuckles." I said.

"Oh, he has much more than that. His healing factor is off the charts." Hank replied. "His whole skeleton has been coated in adamantium, and he survived the procedure."

My jaw dropped and I whipped my head around to meet Wolverine's eyes.

"Whole… Skeleton… Adamantium?" I gasped.

Wolverine sniggered and nodded, crossing his arms across his chest and dropping a wink at me. An outsider would have thought he was just being boastful… Really, he was teasing me about something that had happened a few years earlier. I narrowed my eyes at him and tried to convey with my glare that we would talk about this later.

"Yes, well," Hank cleared his throat, eying the two of us suspiciously. "I had tried the serum on fellow mutants, but it didn't work. It fought their mutations and made them more ill than they had been before. But in my trials on non-mutants and lab animals, it worked perfectly. I had shelved the idea, until I could make it work for mutants and humans both, but I believe it will work for you."

I mulled the idea over in my head. "I'll need to see your research, Hank, and talk to Wolverine."

"Of course, of course. You should probably rest too. It is…" He consulted his watch. "6:30 in the morning. You're most likely very tired."

"I'll talk to Wolverine first, if that's ok?" I turned my gaze to the man in question, who nodded. "And I'd really appreciate that tour Charles promised me." I added.

"Gambit would be happy to show you 'round." That man said. I grinned up at him and nodded.

"And I will go gather all the papers I have regarding this matter." Hank added. He dropped a tablet into my hands. "Also, you are to tell Mr. Stark that you're all right. He said you would know how to reach him with this device." I nodded, and both Hank and Gambit left the room.

I held up a finger to Wolverine, signaling that we'd start talking in a moment. Accessing a line of communication with Tony's suit was the work of a moment, and soon I had assured him that I was alive, and he let me know that he was busy but fine. Not wanting to distract him from whatever crisis had his attention I sent my love, and was surprised when he replied telling me to stay with the X-Men until Kraven was in custody. I told him I would, and then set the tablet aside. I raised my eyes to Wolverine and nodded once.

Wolverine pushed his mask back, letting me see his face for the first time. A wry smile twisted my lips.

"Kinda only seems fair, now that you know who I am." I said. He nodded.

"Does your hair just look like that 'cause of the mask or…?" That got a small scowl from him.

"Nope, it's always like this." He grumbled.

"Oh. Uh, well, that's nice I guess." I said, and he didn't seem to believe me.

"I go by Logan." He began. "Lost my memories a bunch a years back, and that's what was on the dog tags I was wearin'. I ain't sure if that's my real name, or not. I ain't sure a how old I am, either. I ain't aged a day since I woke up on a military base, so… there's no way a knowin', if I'm in m' thirties, or m' hunerd and thirties." This was worrying to me, but I nodded to him to go on.

"This adamantium, I weren't born with it, I know that much. It was melted down and injected onto my bones." I grimaced, but also glared at him.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a metal skeleton when we did that mission together?" I demanded. "I never understood how the hell my bullet could have ricocheted off you and hit me. I thought you had some sort of force field around you or something!"

The jerk started to laugh.

"Serves ya right for shootin' me!" He leaned forward to grab the footboard as he laughed.

"You were coming right for me!" I protested, and he stopped laughing but still had a grin on his face.

"Sorry 'bout that." He absolutely did not look sorry. "I'm what's known as a feral. I run on instinct, and m'instincts were tellin' me you were dangerous."

"I _am_ dangerous." It was my turn to growl at him, but his grin flashed up a watt or two.

"That y'are darlin'. That y'are." He agreed.

"That bullet broke my collarbone!" I hissed, and he shrugged.

"Sorry." He still didn't actually seem sorry. "So, y'wanna tell me now how y'ended up mixed up in that secret agent business?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Its not actually that long of a story. And you're totally never allowed to tell anyone ever. When I was 10, Fury's predecessor recruited me. I travelled internationally a lot with my Dad for the company, and a child is above suspicion – and every kid wants to be a spy. He made it look like I was going to an elite year round boarding school, and trained me to spy on and assassinate very bad people, mostly in foreign countries. I was very good at it. Then Fury took over. He didn't like the idea of child assassins any more than any other sane person. He shut down the program, but I was already nearly 16, and they'd put a lot of money and time into training me so… I stayed on. The kinds of missions I got before I was 18 were black and white, like the one we did. Terrorists, usually, in the middle east, or drug lords in South America or cartel goons in Madripoor. Usually they had no families." I twisted the sheet over my legs between my fingers. "I loved the intelligence gathering missions, where all I had to do was listen to the people my Dad did business with. They never paid attention to the little girl, and I did so well on those missions that S.H.I.E.L.D usually gave me a treat of some kind when I got back – time off training, extra ice cream at dinner."

"And then I turned 17. The missions started getting greyer and greyer. I wasn't getting as many facts about the people I was sent after, like what gang or terrorist cell they were in, if they were in any at all, and certain superior officers started asking me to use sex appeal to get where I needed to be. I was asked to put off college – I did, even though I should have started when I was 16. I was asked to do things with male targets that I didn't want to do – I did. I did everything they wanted, and they kept demanding more and more things. Then one day, I was told I needed plastic surgery. I had been fighting tabloids telling me to do the same thing for months. I know I didn't need it, I'm pretty enough for most men. But I got called into a high-ranking agent's office. She handed me a list of everything she wanted a plastic surgeon to 'take care of'. It was a devastating list, especially to a 17 year old – lips, nose, eyes, and that's just what she wanted to do to my face."

I paused for a breath, and Wolver- Logan's face was stony.

"Yer not 'pretty." He grumbled. "Yer drop dead gorgeous."

I smiled. "I was 17. Gorgeous comes with age and wisdom."

"While I was in her office," I continue "a classified artifact started to act up, and it spit out a hostile alien. It was… It was a massacre. People I knew and loved were torn apart, and crushed, and killed and brainwashed into working for him – Loki. When the dust had settled, we had lost Loki, and a few very important people were with him, and a whole compound was just gone. Things got pretty chaotic after that, and eventually the Avengers were gathered to find Loki. Tony recognized me in Germany, but the mission was such a clusterfuck at that point he didn't have time to corner me and ask what the hell I was doing there till we were back on the helicarrier working on figuring out where the… artifact was. Loki was influencing us, at that point. We were all standing in the lab arguing and he threw my age in Fury's face, and I was just so angry that he basically called me incompetent I almost punched him. But after that was the assault on the helicarrier and New York, and we managed to put our differences aside during that – I stayed on the helicarrier during the assault on New York, feeding the Avengers satellite info and working on getting the computers and network back up. While I was there, a missile was launched at Manhattan. A nuke."

Logan drew his breath in sharply.

"Tony saved the whole damned city from it, all by himself. And I was so disgusted – the order came from over Fury's head, and he disregarded it, but it was executed by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Agents I knew, and thought were better men than that. Other people in the control room were celebrating when Tony used it against the aliens, but I went back to my quarters. I grabbed the list of enhancements I'd been ordered to get, and I found Fury and gave it to him. Told him it was my resignation. He didn't know I'd been ordered to do it. He was so shocked – and we'd all had a long, rough week – that he let me go. The agent who'd given me the list tried to stop me, but I told her to go fuck herself and headed out to Stark Tower. Or what was left of it."

"I know Tony from when we were kids, being dragged to the same stupid functions by our powerful parents. I told him everything, broke every protocol I know. I asked for his help that day when he got back from celebrating with the team, and he gave it without a second thought, and - I'll love him forever for that. He took me in, kept S.H.E.I.L.D and other government agencies at bay when they wanted me back, kept my Dad off my back when he wanted me to get married before starting school, and helped me with my quantum physics and engineering and business homework from Colombia for my undergrad, and MIT and Princeton later. I got to work with the Avengers whenever that itch for adventure struck me, or when they needed me. He housed me, and he fed me, paid my tuition, showered me with gifts and attention when he could and never asked for a thing in return. I'll never be able to repay him what I owe him, not if we both live a thousand years. The best I'll be able to manage is to pay it forward someday."

Logan closed his eyes, and his face twisted into a fearsome scowl.

"Come here." My voice was a little softer, and after a moment his eyes opened again, and he sat heavily in a seat near my bed. I reached out and took his hand, holding his gaze with mine.

"I don't want anyone to know that doesn't already." I said. "This stupid little escapade of mine let me know, I'm done with that part of my life. I just…" I bit my lower lip, hard. "I'm a civilian now, and that's all I want to be. No more S.H.E.I.L.D., no more Avengers. I'm going to dedicate myself to my company, when Kraven's dealt with, and put the past behind me where it belongs."

Logan kept his eyes trained on mine as he squeezed my hand tight for a second.

"If that's what ya really want darlin', I won't stand in yer way and I'll keep yer secrets. For the record though, ya were made for this business. Yer good at it. May be harder ta give up than ya think."

My mouth jumped into a grin at his compliment, and he grinned back at me.

"I don't even know yet if I'll be taking Hank's miracle cure yet, Logan. If I can't for some reason, than this knee will be my forcible retirement."

He nodded and patted the top of my hand with his free one. Then he broke my hold and leaned back in his seat. Taking that to mean someone was coming, I leaned back on the pillows just in time for Hank to come bustling into the room with a thick file in his fist.


	10. Chapter 14

Chapter 10

The file was thrust into my hands, and the sheet lifted from over my right leg. Hank simply studied my ruined knee for a moment. Logan shifted his eyes away, studying the wall behind my head intently.

"May I use a local anesthetic, Aleisha?" Hank inquired.

I considered that for a moment.

"So you can bind it?" I asked.

" I have a brace that should fit you, that has slots for cold packs to be applied to the effected area."

"Oh, I've had splints like that before. That should be fine. I'd rather proceed without any narcotic painkillers though. I've had enough of being sedated for a while."

Hank tsked, and agreed reluctantly before turning and walking away. I let my head drop back onto the pillows. Logan twitched the sheet further down my leg, covering more of my thigh.

"Modest?" I asked

"I met ya when ya were 16. I'd rather not get an eyeful from ya."

I lifted my head to give him a stare that conveyed my incredulity.

"We worked together for maybe 4 days 8 years ago. You shouldn't feel _that_ protective of me."

He shrugged those massive shoulders of his. "Always wondered about ya after that. Felt bad leaving a kid with S.H.I.E.L.D. but ya took off so quick after we were done."

"Were you planning on keeping me from going back?" I was shocked. I'd never gotten a hint from him in those 4 days that my age bothered him.

"Was gonna offer to help ya out from under their thumb." He said matter of factly. I smiled at him and took his hand again. I couldn't find it in myself to care if Hank or anyone else saw.

"I turned out great, Logan. I made good friends who helped me make good choices. Those years I stayed after I met you, I needed them to be who I am now." He relaxed, more than I'd ever seen him do so. Clearly leaving me had been nagging at his conscience for a while now.

"Ya did turn out good, kid."

I raised an eyebrow at "kid", but Hank came back, ending my little moment with Logan. Hank had a tray in his hands, with the brace, ice packs, and a needle. My grip on Logan's hand got a little tighter and I looked away from the needle and towards the door.

Hank had a light touch, and I barely felt the needle going in. The liquid being pushed through it hurt though, as it always did, and Hank pulled out the needle. He switched it out for the next and found another injection site. Gambit came through the door just as I grimaced through the pain of the fifth shot. His lip curled up in surprise and disgust before he schooled his face into blankness again.

"Glad I caught ya 'fore you put da cast on." He said as he reached into his pocket. "Jeanie caught me headed out mah room and gave Gambit some clothes for da lady." A pair of loose red flannel shorts appeared in his hand. My grip finally broke off Logan's hand and I reached for them greedily. It had been too long since I'd had pants on.

"Did she send new underwear too?" I asked. Gambit flashed a crooked grin at me.

"Dat she did. Gambit brought one a his shirts for ya too. Since ya appreciated tha' duster."

I felt a stupid blush rise on my cheeks. He must have caught me sniffing the coat, when I thought I was being so stealthy about it. I smiled my thanks as he pressed the clean clothes into my hands while he took the files at the same time.

"I was going to offer you a sponge bath, once your leg was numb." Hank said. That sounded heavenly after all the chaos and stress of my rescue, and I told him so.

"I apologize that I cannot provide you a female doctor to assist. We've a wonderful woman who floats in and out of the team as needed, but she is unavailable at the moment."

"I trust you Hank," I said. "You've always been a perfect gentlemen around me." I smiled up at him, my mood buoyed by the spreading numbness in my leg and the clean clothes in my hands.

"And I can clean everything but my back myself." He looked relieved.

"How do you know our Henri, Belle?" asked Gambit

"My company makes most of our money from medical human/machine interfaces." I explained. "Hank's been a consultant doctor in a lot of our trials. We work together mainly on making mechanized prosthetics."

"My dear, _you_ make the prosthetics. My job seems to be to observe your incredible work, and marvel at how much you have improved my patient's lives." I flapped my hand at him with a grin.

"Oh stop it, you! You've dreamed up our most important projects. I merely pay attention to your ideas." Hank blustered for a moment but grinned back at me.

"Is your leg numb enough for activity yet?" He asked.

"Won't know until we try." I said. Logan shot up out of his seat and came around my bed to Gambit's side. He grabbed Gambit around his elbow and started to drag him out of the room.

"'Ey, Gambit was 'bout to offer his assistance wit' dis bath!" He protested.

"Move it Bub." Logan growled. I snickered and Gambit smiled at me, his peculiar eyes glittering with mirth. As Logan slammed the door shut, Gambit winked at me.

Hank heaved a sigh, and I giggled. "Our resident Cajun is quite the Casanova." He remarked.

"He's fun." I agreed.

Hank shook his head with a smile and turned to a nearby sink. He wet a washcloth and came back to me. Lifting the sheet completely off my legs, he gave my left leg a good scrubbing before turning to my right leg. He started with the foot, and slowly and gently made his way up my calf. My knee was skipped and he handed me the cloth. Since my leg was so numb I slipped my dirty panties down my legs and quickly washed what I needed to.

I handed the cloth to Hank, who tossed it into a bin and quickly wet another one with hot water. Stripping off my tank top was easy, and I quickly washed my front and arms, taking a lot of time with my underarms. While I did this, Hank had his back turned as he busied himself wetting a cloth for my back. He started humming a pleasant song and I relaxed as I closed my eyes and wiped my face. A dry towel was tossed onto my bed, and I neatly tossed my wet one over Hank's shoulder into the sink. Towel tucked under my chin and draped over the front of my body, I told Hank he could turn around, after I'd tucked the sides under my rear end.

He pressed a hand to my shoulder, coaxing me into stretching over my legs. My cuts were carefully cleaned and dried, and Hank somehow made the process feel like a massage. I melted a little as the hot cloth relaxed some of the knots in my muscles. Too soon, a dry cloth was smoothed over my skin and bandages applied to some of the deeper cuts. Hank turned away again as I dried my legs and put on the t-shirt. I needed him to help me get the fresh undies over my feet and knees, and we paused to get the shorts up that high as well. Then he stood behind and to my side and lifted me straight up with a grip under my armpits. Getting the shorts over my hips made me feel more secure than anything that had happened so far that day and an indefatigable grin spread over my face.

Hank paused to open the door and let the two men waiting in the hallway back in. Gambit grinned himself, at the sight of me swimming in his huge t-shirt. Sleeves that probably only went down to the middle of his biceps hung past my elbows and if I'd been standing the hem of the shirt might have reached my knees. Logan was recruited to help lift my leg as Hank slipped the brace over my knee. The straps were carefully tightened, though not too much, and the ice packs inserted into their slots – though by now, they weren't very frozen. Hank and Logan shifted me into the wheelchair again, and Gambit gave me back the files, handing me the tablet I'd used to contact Tony earlier as well.

"Ready for da grand tour a de X-Men's mansion?" He asked.

"Yes please!" I chirped back. I was feeling better and more relaxed than I had in days, but real rest wouldn't come until I had my surroundings mapped into my mind. Gambit turned me around, and I saw that there were no windows in this little hospital wing. Hank excused himself, busy writing on my clipboard, as Logan, Gambit and I started the tour.

"Are we still underground?" I asked.

"Oui. De basement has 3 levels, an we on de second level." Gambit answered.

"Ok, so… bottom floor is the jet hanger?" I asked

"Oui."

"And we're on the second floor down. What's on the first level?"

"Ya didn't see all a' the third floor." Logan said. I twisted to look at him and he gave me a big grin.

"So, that'll be where your training arena is then." Gambit barked a laugh and Logan nodded.

"We call it the Danger Room." He explained.

"Of course you do." I said. "I helped build the Avengers training arena – can I watch you use it some time, maybe suggest improvements?"

"You ain't even seen it yet Belle!" Gambit laughed. "How you know you can 'improve' it?"

I tilted my head back to meet his eyes. My smile got even wider.

"I can." I said simply. He laughed and shook his head disbelievingly.

"De Wolverine and Gambit gon' spar after dis tour. You wanna watch?" I nodded quickly. "Ah'ight, it's a date den." I clapped my hands and did a little happy dance in the chair. Logan shook his head disdainfully, but kept a little smile as he did it.

"Can we start with the first basement level then?" I asked.

"Sure Belle." He pushed me out of the room and turned right, towards the elevator we'd used before.

"Wait, wait, after this level." I said.

"Dere ain't not'in on dis level dat's interestin." Gambit said.

"Start with this floor Gumbo. She'll be stayin' on it tonight." Logan said.

"Ah, right." Gambit sounded a little embarrassed. "Sorry 'bout dat."

"No problem." I reassured him. "I'll just sleep easier knowing the place better."

"'Course ya will." Gambit agreed.

We were in the back corner of a hospital wing, with another wing of beds to the east. When we left the rooms we entered a hallway. To the left was what looked like a transport, probably a quick way down to the plane from this floor. To the right were an operating theater, small pharmacy and general store of medical supplies. Directly across from my wing of beds was a physics lab, and next to it to the left was an electronics lab. If you walked through the physics lab you entered my kind of lab, biology combined with electronics and chemistry. To the left of the electronics lab was a really nice gym and locker room, complete with pool and sauna.

The elevator ride up to the mansion proper was quiet, and once we'd stepped (or rolled) off the elevator on the ground floor Logan stopped Gambit. He stepped up to my extended leg and gingerly touched the back of his hand to the outside ice pack.

"Keep an eye out for the Iceman Gumbo. Her packs are warmin' up." Logan rumbled. Gambit murmured in agreement.

"He'll probably be in da TV room. Saturday mornin' cartoons. Le's do da second floor an den come back down an find 'im." He said. The thought of a mutant superhero getting up early for cartoons brought the smile I'd had almost constantly since my rescue back to my lips.

"Wanna take da stairs, Belle?" Gambit asked. When I turned to give him a 'what the heck are you thinking?' face, he grinned.

"We got telekinetics, and da sun comin' t'rough da windows onto da stairs ain't nuttin you should miss."

I agreed. Logan led the way around the back of the staircase and we were soon in a grand entrance hall.

"Jeanie's in the kitchen. Wait here and I'll go get 'er." He left without another word and Gambit rolled me to the staircase before sitting on the third step in front of me. My head kept swiveling right and left, trying to take in all the details of my surroundings. Gambit waited patiently through this, and I finally faced him again. He was breathtakingly handsome, even lounging, and my attraction to him was surprising. I'd spent my early adulthood nearly inundated with the best specimens mankind (and a few other-kinds) had to offer, and male beauty didn't usually strike me the way Gambit's did.

"S'pretty, non?" he asked.

"Gorgeous." I agreed. "I've never been in such an elegant place that still managed to feel like a home, you know?"

His ever-present smile softened, but became warmer somehow.

"Ya, dis Cajon knows 'xactly whatchu mean Belle."

We sat in some companionable silence for a while. I found myself thrilled to even be in this place – to be doing something new. My life had been stagnating for a long time and it had taken this violent shake up of my routine to make me truly appreciate what I had been missing for almost a year now.

Logan returned soon, with a redhead that I took to be "Jeannie". I quickly thanked her for the clothes, and she had such a warm demeanor I liked her instantly. She concentrated for a moment, touching her fingers to her temples, and I found myself floating up above the stairs. Gambit found his feet and walked alongside me. I held myself very still and kept quiet, not wanting to distract her, and we reached the top of the stairs quickly, and without incident. Floating was an awesome feeling, as always. As we reached the next floor, taking the left hand of a split at the very end, Gambit paused and let me float ahead, resting his hands on the back of my wheelchair and pushing me forward before he'd cleared the last step. He gestured past my head to the doors in front of us.

"Dat's de Professor's rooms. To da left is da femme's dormitories and to da right is d'homme's rooms, and dat's de elevator in d'middle." I nodded, and he pushed me forward and to the left. I spotted nice little reading areas on either side of the stairs that looked very cozy. We went to the beginning of the women's hall and Gambit pointed to the door at the very end of the hall.

"Dat's a small study, an it got windows near trees." I nodded. "Same t'ing at de end a' d'other hall."

"Got it." I confirmed. He pushed me to the study, and we were quiet for the students still sleeping. Logan pushed open the door and we all got through to a serene little study area that was obviously used but tidy. Logan moved to the right and opened a closet door, revealing another door that opened to a tube.

"We got dese in a few places in de mansion. Dey lead to da second sub-basement, where da jet is."

"We teach the residents on this floor to open the windows and go down the tubes." Jeannie said softly.

"I did the opposite at Tony's tower once. Sent the elevator down and hid on a ledge outside a window for about an hour." I said softly. It had been the dead of summer, and so hot that the rubber bottoms of my slippers had melted to the ledge. Tony had to put his suit back on and fly outside to get me when they finally found me. The ledge was too hot for me to slip my feet out and walk back to the window. We were all quiet for a moment, I imagine all recalling similar events. Logan closed the tube and closet doors, motioning back towards the hallway.

We quickly retraced our steps, with stops to examine a small galley and the laundry room. Soon I was floating back down the stairs. Logan was unhappy with how warm my ice packs were getting, so we cut back past the elevator, through a sitting room, a galley, and a library (this was a huge mansion!) to a day room with a TV and a teenager.

Logan moved to block his view of the TV, and the boy immediately sat at attention.

"Man, Wolverine, why you gotta mess with me on my day off?" He whined.

"We need you ta use your powers quick." Logan said. "Then you can get back to rottin' yer mind."

The boy really looked at me for the first time, and surprise lit his face.

"Is she a civie?" He asked.

"Yup." Wolverine said. "Rescued her from Kravinoff this mornin'. We're s'possed ta keep her here till the Avengers, or S.H.I.E.L.D or sommant can get 'im behind bars."

The boy grimaced, and I started to feel uneasy. I hadn't stopped to think, in my relief and elation, that maybe some of the residents here wouldn't like an outsider in their midst. That had been stupid of me.

The boy on the couch examined my leg quickly, and Logan nodded.

"We need 'er ice packs re-iced." He told the boy, who nodded gravely.

Just as he'd touched his finger to the ice pack on the inside of my leg, a cartoon explosion ripped across the TV screen. His attention snapped to it, and his power pulsed from his hand. In the blink of an eye, I suddenly found my whole knee encased in a block of ice. My jaw dropped, as did Logan, Jeannie's, and the boy's. Gambit was behind me but I guessed he was stunned too.

"Guh." I said.

"DRAKE!" yelled Logan. The boy flinched hard, and his face drained of any color. Jeannie twitched as well, turning her head to scowl at Logan. The ends of my mouth drooped down for the first time since I'd gotten on the jet.

Logan scratched the back of his head with harsh, angry swipes.

"Sorry kid, but dammit!" He muttered. It had not escaped my notice that no real names had been uttered in my presence, but this awkward situation made me feel like an intruder for the first time. The very last thing I wanted to do was make these mutants uncomfortable in what must be their very safest haven. A blush lit my cheeks, so bright it might have lit this room at night.

"I won't tell anyone who you are." I rushed to tell the kid. He turned to me, still pale. "I'll swear on anything you want, as many times as you need. I won't tell anyone, ever, what I just heard."

Gambit's hand came to rest on my left shoulder, grasping it tight. Some color came back to the kid's face, and he looked embarrassed. After a long, tense moment Gambit came around to my right side, still holding my shoulder, which meant his arm draped across my shoulders in a half hug as he dropped into a crouch next to me. He stared intently into my eyes and I stared back, trying to convey my earnestness.

"Mah name-" He started. I clapped my hand over his mouth.

"Do not!" I protested. "Do! Not! This is your home. This is your safest place. I'll stay down in the med lab until I work out some way to safely go back to the city. Don't worry about it."

He snagged my hand from his mouth with his free hand and moved to press it to his chest, which I noted, felt nicely firm. He smiled.

"Mah name is Remy LeBeau." He said softly. I bit my lip hard, and surprisingly, tears sprang to my eyes.

"I am Jean Grey." 'Jeannie' added. I couldn't seem to look away from Gambit – Remy, as I now knew.

I huffed, and frowned. "You don't have to do this. I'm intruding on your space. I'm sorry I didn't think about it earlier."

Wolverine crouched down right in front of me. "Ah'm Logan." He dropped a wink, forcing a small smile onto my face that quickly disappeared.

"Really, guys, I know how to hire bodyguards. The Heroes for Hire are always happy to take my money." I protested one last time.

"Ah like havin' you 'round, Belle." Gambit said, dragging my eyes back to his face. "_We_ like havin' you 'round. Stay."

Shivers were starting to wrack my frame, and not just from the tension of the moment. That block of ice on my knee really needed to come off.

"Well, I suppose I could stay, 'till Kraven's caught." I said. "But now we should probably get back to Hank to get my knee unfrozen." My plan was to get to the med lab and stay in it, as long as it took. Gambit shook his head though.

"How 'bout de kitchen?" he asked, turning his head to consult with Logan. "Ah figure all we gotta do is pour warm water on it." Logan nodded.

"Lets do this on the porch though." He amended. Gambit-Remy, nodded. The arm he had slung across my shoulders tightened in a half hug before he rose to his feet. Logan followed suit, and led us down the hall towards the entry room. The mutant boy with ice powers shut off the TV and followed him, and Jean Grey walked beside me as Remy pushed. Jean Grey had a small frown on her face and my insides were fairly squirming with guilt. She turned and caught me staring, and smoothed her face out into a blank look.

We passed the elevator again and went to the opposite hallway. It was finally late enough for some students to be up, and as we encountered a few their conversation abruptly ended and they gaped at us until we passed. New guilt was nearly a tangible thing in my gut, twisting my insides and sinking my heart. We soon came to the kitchen, and Logan and the ice-boy stepped to the cabinet under the sink. A pair of buckets were pulled out before I was pushed out a pair of glass doors and onto a patio covered in wrought iron tables and chairs.

Remy placed me at the edge of the patio. I raised my left leg and tucked my foot under my right thigh so that splashing water wouldn't hit my leg. Logan and the ice boy came soon after us, steam rising from their buckets in the cool winter air. Logan carefully and slowly poured the warm water over my leg and the block of ice slowly melted.

"I'm sorry miss." The ice boy muttered. I smiled at him as gently as I could.

"Don't worry about it." I replied. "I can't tell you how many lab benches I've blown up. We all make mistakes."

That got the first smile I'd seen out of him, and suddenly he offered his hand to me. I carefully schooled my face – my first instinct had been to scowl. The plan to escape to the city as soon as possible hadn't changed yet and I didn't want him getting too attached to me. Sharing his real name when I knew what he was wasn't something he, or any mutant, would take lightly. Real names were reserved for people they trusted. But, with no way to gracefully decline, I took his and hand shook it.

"I'm Bobby Drake." He said.

"Aleisha West-Warthington." I said. His eyebrows shot up to meet his hairline.

"I've hearda you. You're rich, right?" Jean made a disapproving noise from behind him.

"That's an awfully rude question, Bobby." She chided.

"No, no, it's fine." I laughed. "Yeah, I'm rich. I own a company. But I work my butt off for it." I added. He nodded.

"I heard that. Jubes was watching some VH1 special on heiresses, and I heard a bit about you."

I rolled my eyes. "Its pretty easy to look good when you're being compared Paris Hilton." I said dryly.

"They said you lived with Tony Stark." He sounded very interested, and Logan groaned.

"Dat's who hired us ta go get 'er." Remy added. He sounded interested in the subject – most men were, to be honest. They tend to idolize Anthony Stark.

"Yeah. I lived with him through my undergrad at NYU, and he set me up with my own place for grad school. I always spent breaks with him though." I knew my voice had gotten a little dreamy, as it always does when I talk about Tony. "It's been too long since I've spent time with him lately." I added regretfully as I hugged the files and tablet in my lap close to my chest.

Logan had finally melted through to the top of my knee and taken a whole bucket to do it. He put down the empty one and picked up the full one, pouring it down the sides of my leg.

"What's he like?" Bobby asked. I put my index finger to my chin as I considered the question.

"He's exactly like he is on TV and in the papers." I said "And then sometimes he's not. He has a lot of trouble sitting still most of the time." Bobby was staring raptly at my face, as though I was telling him some new and secret information about the great Tony Stark. "He used to sketch out invention ideas while I was doing homework in the living room, and I'd ask him for help when I needed it. A few of his designs hanging in the halls at Stark Industries have my science homework on them somewhere."

"Cool." He breathed, and I smiled. Logan drew our attention with a grunt. He put down the bucket.

"Can we lift that leg?" He asked gruffly.

"Sure, I think so. It still feels numb from the shots." I said. He slid a massive hand under my calf, ready to raise it off the bed of ice it now rested on. He waited for me to take a deep breath, and then lifted it slightly. His other hand came up and batted the loose ice off the leg of the chair, before his hand dipped behind his hips and into his back pocket. A clean hand towel came out and was used to wipe the leg of the chair, before it was discarded. Another one was brought out and laid beneath my knee. Just as it was starting to feel uncomfortable, my leg was lowered back onto the chair. I wriggled a little until everything was comfortable again, and wished I had a blanket. Logan drew the ice packs out and tossed them to Bobby.

"Try to not ta go overboard again kid." He said. Bobby blushed so bright I wondered if there was any blood left anywhere other than his cheeks.

He concentrated this time, and the first pack firmed up, and a layer of frost coated its outsides. He handed it to Logan, who carefully put it back in the brace as the process was repeated on the second pack. Soon everything was back where it should be, and Jean Grey put her arm around Bobby's shoulders.

"C'mon, Bobby, let me make you some breakfast." She said.

Bobby looked back at me. "You guys gonna join us?" he asked exuberantly.

"I think these two had plans for after the tour." I said. "But maybe I'll catch up with you later?"

His shoulders drooped a little. "Sure, yeah, that sounds good." He said. Jean drew him away without another word to me, but waved to us all. Logan was still crouched by my knee.

"So, wanna keep going? We got the whole first floor ta finish." He said. I shook my head.

"Can I see your training arena?" I asked. "Then I should probably go back to the med lab."

He nodded and stood. As we passed through the kitchen, Logan went to a cupboard and snagged what looked like granola bars. They were, and Logan distributed them to Remy and myself. I took a bite of mine before I tucked it into the chair. We continued on to the elevator quietly. When the doors opened on the second sub-basement, the professor was waiting for us.

"How has your tour been, Aleisha?" He asked jovially.

"Oh, fine, you have a lovely school." I told him. Remy and Logan both snorted with laughter.

"Shush." I told them. Charles raised his eyebrows questioningly as we proceeded down a small corridor towards a big door labeled "Danger Room."

"Nothing happened." I assured him. "Nothing important, at least." He shook his head at me as Logan moved ahead of us.

"As long as you weren't hurt." He said.

"Nope." I shook my head for emphasis.

Logan threw open the doors and turned back to me with a bigger smile than I'd ever seen on his face. "Welcome ta the danger room." He stepped back with a flourish and pulled his mask back over his face. Remy pushed me forward and into the room, and the professor came with me. Remy tapped my shoulder.

"Dis Cajun gon' go change now." He explained when I turned to look at him. I nodded and waved goodbye, but he seemed to hesitate a moment. Turning in the chair a little further I looked at him expectantly. He leaned down like he was going to whisper something in my ear, and then kissed my cheek. The smile that spread on my face felt foolish, and when he winked at me I nearly swooned. Then he turned on his heel and left. Wolverine was shaking his head at me when I turned back around, and my smile just got bigger. Charles was back to shaking his head, but now with an indulgent smile. I started really looking at the room. It was a dome shape, covered in little panels.

"Can I see one of those wall panels?" I asked Wolverine. He didn't say anything, but he pushed me to one and parked the chair sideways next to it. Pressing and prodding it produced nothing, until I shoved awkwardly on one side and pushed the panel away from me. Inside were laser guns, that didn't look very powerful.

"For your students?" I asked Charles.

"Well, they get used by the team as well." He said. I was surprised.

"It's not very strong." I said. Wolverine chuffed a laugh.

"I been tellin' ya Chuck, tranin's gettin too easy." Wolverine said.

"It'd be pretty simple to upgrade your lasers." I explained. "Not too expensive, either, and you can change the settings on them to make them safe for trainees."

"How much would that cost?" Charles asked interestedly.

"Mmmmm…" I looked at all the panels that matched the one I'd opened. "2.5? I think. Maybe a little more."

Wolverine sucked in air, but Charles remained stoic as always.

"2.5." Wolverine echoed me. "2.5 million dollars?" He asked.

"Yeah." I said.

"That ain't 'cheap'" Wolverine said.

"At least a billion dollars went into this room alone, discounting the alien tech I see powering the projectors." I said, ignoring Charles uncomfortable shifting at the mention of otherworldly influences. "Not counting a single other thing I've seen in this mansion today."

"It was a little less than that." Charles said modestly.

I was already focused on the floor around me. I grasped the wheels on my chair and moved over it, rolling back and forth.

"No treadmill on the floor?" I asked. Charles shook his head no.

"I can see that the different panels change elevation." I said as I leaned down to run a hand over the surface. "You could top these panels with treadmills to add challenge to it. It would make any illusions that have any sort of distance in them doable." Wolverine looked interested in that idea.

Gambit chose that moment to return, seeming to fill the doorway. He was wearing body armor under his duster, and had his ears covered by some kind of mask that only went up the sides of his face and around his forehead.

"Already fixin' de place?" He asked.

"Not yet, but soon." I told him. Turning to Charles, I asked "Is there anything I can sketch on while we watch them?"

He smiled. "I suppose we could find something." He said.

"If you can't rustle up some drafting paper, simple gridded graphing paper could do for now." I said.

Charles scratched his chin. "You may have to settle for graphing paper." He sounded uncertain.

"That's fine for now." I assured him. Waiting to have my own pencils and erasers would be better anyway. "Maybe we should let these two get on with their training, hmmm?" I asked. Gambit rubbed his hands together and sent Wolverine a wicked grin.

"Les' git you up in de control room den, hmmmm?" He never took his eyes off Wolverine as he spoke to me. I could relate to that fighting drive, so I understood.

"I will do that, Gambit." Charles said. I frowned, and looked at him from the corner of my eye.

"Really?" I asked. Gambit and Wolverine looked shaken, snapping their heads around to stare at Charles. The wheels on my chair suddenly lifted off the floor, and I gasped and grabbed onto the arms.

"No way!" I yelped. Charles laughed at me.

"Come, let's adjourn to the control room. We can talk more there." Charles turned, and my chair turned with him. I floated ahead of him, going through doors that opened and closed without people touching him, and up a flight of stairs. When we reached the control room, the wheelchair touched down onto the floor and glided up to the panel. Charles angled it sideways so that we were facing each other but able to see into the room.

My face was set in an exaggerated scowl. I didn't really feel betrayed, we'd only been friendly acquaintances up to this point, but I couldn't believe I'd known him for so long and never suspected he might be a mutant.

He turned to me with an easy smile, and said "So…"


	11. Chapter 15

Chapter 11

"So… I suppose I've given you a bit of a shock." This was the most sheepish I'd ever seen him, and I broke my scowl to smile back at him.

"Well, yeah. I've known you for years, never even suspected." I admitted. I fussed with my hands for a moment, staring into my lap. "You didn't ever have to let me know, you know. I'm so sorry if you feel like your hand was forced."

"My dear, you haven't forced a thing. I am more pleased than you know to have you here, in my home and with my people. I find myself hoping that your villain stays at large for a long. long time, that I may steal more time with you."

He always manages to lift my spirits, and I believed he truly meant his kind words. My resolve to leave soon started to crumble. As I pondered that, the tablet in my arms started to beep. Leaning it away from my chest, I saw that Tony was calling. Quickly glancing at Charles, I asked,

"Can I take a video call in here?"

He looked a little puzzled. "I don't see why not."

My finger hovered over the button to accept the call. "If you don't want Stark to see your control room…"

Charles waved a hand "Ah, that is fine." That grin I'd had on my face since my rescue spread wider still. I tapped the icon to accept the call.

"Hey, Tony, oh God, it's so good to see your face." I greeted him enthusiastically. The two men below were warming up for their training, and gave no indication they could hear me.

"It's good to see you too." He looked and sounded so tired, I was worried for him.

"I'm here with Charles." I told him, panning the tablet's camera over to include Charles, who waved and then busied himself with a section of the control panel. "What's up?" I asked as I aimed the camera back at myself.

"I'm getting my hour's rest coming up, just wanted to check in with you. Hear your voice." He said. I ached to give him a hug, like I would when he looked this wrecked years ago. Instead I propped the tablet up on the control panel and wrapped my arms around myself.

"You're in a wheelchair." His voice hardened with new anger, and the tendons and muscles in his throat suddenly stood out sharply.

"He didn't want me running." I kept my voice bland. The last thing I wanted to do was piss him off too much before he tried to grab some sleep. "I'll be fine, soon. Don't worry about me."

"I'll always worry about you." He said firmly. "Which, is why, I want to ask you again to stay there 'till Kraven's caught." I raised my eyebrows at him, inviting him to explain. "He's in the city." Tony continued. "He tore apart your penthouse, but I'd already had your things moved to the Mansion. He's been spotted lurking around the mansion and Warthington Towers, but he disappears before anyone can snag him." I blinked at that revelation.

"Uh… why'd you move all my stuff to the mansion?" I asked.

"I wanted you, y'know, near, when this cleared up." He sounded a little embarrassed. "I didn't really think it through when I had it done. Glad I did now though." I had to agree the timing was good, but it still seemed a little high handed of him.

"Anyone hurt at the penthouse?" I asked. There was a large staff there, some of whom might be foolhardy enough to try to protect my home.

"Nope." I breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, if I'm gonna be here a while… what are the chances I'll get a care package sometime soon?" I asked mischievously. Tony laughed, and it was good to hear.

"Ah, yeah, can't believe it took you this long to ask." I giggled. "Whadaya want in it?"

"If you could get some of my credit cards re-issued, I could go ahead and get some clothing essentials." I loosened my hold on myself to gesture at the shirt I was wearing. Tony shook his head.

"I'll send you some of mine. He could be monitoring your accounts." He said. I nodded.

"That's smarter." I admitted. "I'll pay you back when I can."

"Naw, we'll call it your Christmas present." He said, as he waved his hand dismissively.

"You said that about the horse you saved for me 3 weeks ago." I pointed out. He groaned and raised a hand to squeeze his temples.

"I'm not running a tab. Lemme give you this." He said. "Christ, I'm the one asking you to hide, I'll pay for it." He was starting to sound aggravated, and he was running his hands through his hair. I held my hands up in the universal sign of surrender.

"Alright, alright, you've twisted my arm sir. Shower me with gifts and generosity if you must." I tucked my arms around myself tightly again, and Tony finally cracked a smile.

"I must." He said firmly. "How about I include some… jewelry, too?" He had that glint of triumph in his eye I usually associated with new Iron Man suits.

"You finished my bracelets?" I asked eagerly. He nodded. "Ooooh, that would be really… hold on."

I turned to Charles, biting my lip. "Um… Charles?"

"Hmmmm?" He rumbled an interrogative.

"This jewelry is, uh, weaponized." I admitted. "If that makes you uncomfortable I, uh, I won't take it." Tony's face started to get stormy again, and I put my finger to my lips to shush him. I'd already intruded on and learned more about his school than I was entirely comfortable with. If weapons made Charles uneasy, I wouldn't bring them in and that was that.

"You are practiced with these bracelets?" Charles asked blandly. I simply nodded.

"She's been working with the prototypes for nine months now. She's very, very good with them and I'll sleep a lot easier if I know she's got them." Tony's face was twisted into a massive scowl. I bit my lip, not wanting to piss off Tony any more, but definitely not willing to worry Charles or anyone in this house.

"I find that I am intrigued by the idea of weaponized jewelry. I myself own several poison rings" Charles said. "Send it, Mr. Stark, by all means, if it will lessen this burden you're carrying." I flashed him a smile and mouthed the words 'thank you'. He nodded graciously.

Tony scrubbed his hand over his face. "That was too aggressive." He admitted. "Sorry, Xavier." He offered no excuses for his temper, and tears welled up in my eyes for the second time that day. He was so tired, and I was adding to his frustrations. Biting my bottom lip, I said nothing.

"No worries, my boy." Charles called out.

"So, credit cards and jewelry. Anything else?" Tony asked, focusing on me again.

"3D com on the bracelets?" I asked. Tony nodded.

"Ok… just the usual 'else' then, I think. Oh! A 3D drafting surface please? I'll be offering my services while I'm here." Tony nodded.

"It'll come after the cards and the bracelets. Those'll get to you this afternoon. Evening at the latest." I nodded back to him.

"Ok then.. that's all for now, I think." I said. "You need to sleep, and for more than an hour. Please." I added. Tony nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, maybe I'll get a little more." He seemed like he was already half asleep, and as I watched he swept his shirt off, bunching it up in one hand to rub on his chest. He'd done that in front of me a million times while we were getting ready for bed, and the familiar sight made me feel… homesick? My heart ached, a little, for sure. I reached out and put my palm on the tablet.

"I miss you. Take care, be safe." I told him.

"_You_ be safe." He said seriously. I nodded.

"I am, here, you don't have to worry about me." I tried to assure him. "They're taking great care of me, and they're strong. Kraven won't be able to get to me here even if he does find out where I am." He closed his eyes for a long moment.

"That helps." He said finally. "That helps a lot. I'm gonna get some shuteye now. I'll call again when I can."

I kissed my fingers and then touched them to the screen. He blew out a deep, shuddering breath, before he nodded. Our call cut out without another word and a tear slipped down my cheek. I wiped it away harshly and took a couple of deep breaths. Charles let me have my weepy moment in as much privacy as he could.

"Shoot." I said, out of the blue. Charles turned to me, eyebrows raised.

"I forgot to tell Tony something." I admitted sheepishly. "Someone paid Kraven to snatch me, he said." Charles leaned away from the console and steepled his fingers in front of his face.

"That does seem like something the Avengers should know." He said seriously. I nodded.

"Let me just let Cap know, then we can stop holding those two up." I nodded to Gambit and Wolverine, patiently waiting below. Quickly as is possible, I logged on to the Avengers network and chose Captain America's ID card.

'Just finished talking to Tony, forgot to tell him: someone paid Kraven to go after me, at least that's what he said.' I typed quickly, and then put the tablet to sleep.

"Not waiting for a reply?" Charles asked.

I smiled. "Cap doesn't answer texts. Took long enough to get him to read them."

"I can sympathize with him." Charles smiled back.

"He'll have someone get back to me soon, and he probably won't wake Tony up with this. In the meantime, ready to get this show on the road?"

Charles nodded, and leaned forward to a microphone in the center of the panel.

"We are ready to continue." He announced to the two combatants below.

"Sorry about the holdup!" I added before Charles took his finger off the microphone button. Gambit grinned up at the booth.

"Don' worry 'bout it Belle." His voice came through into the control room as nicely as if he was wired with a mic. I gave Charles my impressed face, and his chest seemed to swell with some of the pride on his face.

"Computer: user Wolverine. Scenario: Dark Alley. Safety: Off." Wolverine barked. I leaned forward, quickly scanning the control panel to familiarize myself with it. It lacked some things I was expecting.

Around the two men an alley sprung up, dark and dank looking. Both of them melted into the shadows immediately. My attention was dragged to the room from the panel. I tracked them by muffled noise and subtle movement. A quick glance at Charles let me know he wasn't following them the way I was.

"You can sense them with your power?" I whispered.

"Mmmhmmm." He answered, his voice as low as mine and his eyes never leaving the room before us.

I nodded and focused on the room again, and moved the wheelchair closer to the center and the microphone.

Gambit's hands flashed in the darkness, and Wolverine was launched from the roof of the building on my left. Wolverine rolled as he landed on the ground and disappeared with a snarl. Gambit's laugh was so low we barely heard it in the control room. A bo snapped into his hands and his coat swirled around him in a graceful arc, out of eyesight again. Moments later, Wolverine leapt between the buildings, and Gambit came down from above him. They met in the middle with Gambit on top. He controlled their descent, slamming Wolverine through a rickety fire escape for about three stories. When they hit the ground Gambit rolled off Wolverine. They both sprung up, but Wolverine was staggering a little bit.

Gambit pressed his advantage, lunging forward after Wolverine and slamming his bo into the other man's solar plexus. Instead of the whoosh of expelled air I was expecting, Wolverine's hands slammed into the stick, forcing it down. Gambit stumbled slightly, and Wolverine landed a punch on his ribs. They broke apart and disappeared again.

Wolverine's claws flashed in a light from the second floor, and one of Gambit's cards sped towards him at nearly the same moment he showed himself. The explosion was small, compared to what I'd seen at Kraven's compound, and I was shocked to see it utterly wasted.

My hand snapped out and hit the microphone button. "Again please Gambit?" I asked.

Without a word he launched another card, towards where Wolverine was currently crouching. The energy expended quickly dissipated.

"Again please." I asked. Charles cocked an eyebrow at me, and I frowned. Pointing to so of the readouts on the screen in front of him, we both watched a spike as Gambit blew up another card.

Without my finger on the mic button, I spoke to Charles. "You're monitoring the energy expended but you're not capturing any of it?" I asked.

Charles looked surprised. "We use the monitor to ascertain what level a mutant might be operating at." He explained.

"That last blast could have powered this entire mansion for about 15 minutes." I told him "Times three, that's 45 minutes of stress you're not putting on those massive generators upstairs. I didn't realize you were relying solely on them."

"We're on the power grid, and we use just enough of it that we're not arousing suspicion." Charles said. "The generators were making up the difference, but they are getting older."

"I can capture the energy expended in this room for you. That'll help a lot, I think. We can talk about much more reliable sustainable energy sources for you soon." Charles smiled at me warmly.

The fight had continued below us, and I pressed my finger to the mic again. "Can we engage the lasers?" I asked

"Sure darlin." And a short "Oui." Answered me. Charles floated his hands over the panel, and the weapons in the room came out. The amount of power they were expending made me wince, but the fight became much more frenetic. The bright lights of the guns made the shadow melting they'd been doing impossible. Gambit had the bo again, and he was using it to direct his explosions, without the cards. Veins of his power raced along the ground from the end of his staff towards Wolverine, who was gracefully leaping out of the way at the last second before every detonation. It was easy to get caught up just watching the two of them, and for a moment I forgot there was a scientific reason I was here.

After a long time watching, my hip started to seize up, as it does when I sit still too long, and keeping my eyes on the fight. I pushed off the left arm of the wheelchair to adjust my posture, and to my utter surprise, it snapped off the rest of the chair. With a startled yelp, I was launched sideways out of the chair, the papers from the files fluttering all around me. Since I was on the floor, I missed what happened next, but I did hear the pained shriek and surprised grunt that came from the Danger Room.

"Gambit!" Charles yelled as I flopped about on the floor, trying to roll off my front to sit up. Curses streamed out of my mouth as my knee screamed at me through the Novocain, but I finally managed to drag myself up to sit with my legs sticking straight out in front of me. When I looked to Charles, he had his hand to his head and seemed to be concentrating. With a valiant effort, I managed to ignore my knee long enough to pull myself up with the edge of the control panel.

What I saw next nearly stopped my heart. The room had reverted to a bare dome, and Gambit was on his back with Wolverine crouched over him turned away from us. Wolverine's hands were pressed to Gambit's chest, which was covered in blood. While I watched in shock, Hank McCoy burst through the doors with a black bag. Gambit's body armor and coat were ripped off, and 3 deep cuts on his torso were visible, with blood nearly pouring out of them. Hank quickly applied a compress, making Gambit grimace. Relief that he was conscious weakened my one good knee, and I started groping behind myself to find the broken wheelchair without taking my eyes off the scene in front of me.

My feet lifted off the floor before I found the chair, and I was turned away from the window as Hank and Wolverine lifted Gambit together, headed out the door. Charles led the way, floating me through the air behind him out the door and down the stairs. We all made a somber sort of procession down the hall, Charles and I taking up the rear of our little group. The ride up in the elevator continued in the tense silence, Gambit's face twisted into a pained scowl as Hank kept up the pressure. We soon arrived in the room we'd started this ill-fated tour in. I was set back on the bed I'd been in before and Gambit sprawled into the next bed over. Wolverine took over the compress from Hank, who hurriedly bustled over to a sink and began washing his hands. Biting my lower lip, I could do nothing but watch as the man who'd rescued me only hours earlier got more and more pale, before finally closing his eyes as his whole body went limp.


	12. Chapter 16

Chapter 12

After Gambit passed out the room became a frenetic mess. Hank leapt from the sink to the bedside blocking my view. An IV stand was rolled over to him and what looked like plasma was attached to it.

"Logan, in the cabinets directly behind me second shelf from the bottom. Suture kits are prepared on trays."

Logan tossed his mask back as he crossed the room. The kit was fetched and delivered quickly as machines on the IV stand began to feed Hank information about Gambit. Heart rate, blood pressure, pulses at different points on the body. The pressure was removed from Remy's wounds and Hank began to clean them in preparation for suturing. Logan stepped in front of me as the needle was threaded, still facing Remy's bed with his back towards me.

"UUUUUuuuuRRRRRRRggggghhhh." Remy moaned. I guessed he had woken before the stitches were finished.

"My apologies dear boy." Hank sounded distracted. His giant blue hand flashed back to the tray that lay on Remy's bed. He picked up a pre-loaded syringe and it disappeared back behind the bulk of his body.

"De femme, she alright?" Remy's voice was strained, and it sounded like his teeth were clenched tight together.

"Miss West-Warthington is in much the same condition in which she arrived." Charles offered. "What you heard was her taking a small tumble from the wheelchair." Logan glanced over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at me. I threw my hands up with exasperation and scowled back at him.

"The arm broke!" I hissed quietly at Logan. He shook his head disbelievingly and turned to look at the bed before him again.

Remy's breathing was even now, and he was still conscious. His breath hitched every now and then as the needle passed through his skin. The room had calmed down considerably since Remy had regained consciousness, as though we had collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Hank worked at a calm and even pace, and soon he was taking bandages from his tray and smoothing them onto Remy's chest. Logan moved to the sink and wet a rag, passing it to Hank when he offered his hand.

When Hank moved away finally, Remy turned to look at me. Still a little stunned at the fast pace that injury and treatment occurred, I lifted a hand and waved at him. He chuckled, then winced as the movement pulled at his fresh stitches.

"What happened?" I asked.

"We heard ya scream and fall." Logan explained. "We both looked up to tha control room while Gambit here was jumpin at me while I had my claws out." I grimaced. "He stuck himself on 'em 'fore I even knew he was there."

"Yikes." Was the only comment I could make on that. Hank had moved to a tall cabinet and removed another IV stand, and rolled it towards me.

"I was just about to go find you, Aleisha, before you came to me." Hank said.

"Oh?" I said.

"I've prepared the next round of Telithromycin for you. If you do take our friend Logan's cure tomorrow, when I will be finished recreating it, you will not have to finish the regular course."

"Well, that's definitely something in your miracle cure's favor." I joked. Hank favored me with a brief smile as I offered him my left arm. He gently took my hand, and inserted the IV needle into the back of my hand. His attention was focused on that, so he didn't see my grimace as the needle slid in. I relaxed back against my pillows as Hank withdrew and turned to Remy.

"And how about a painkiller for you, hmmm?" Hank was already reaching into a nearby cabinet and withdrawing a needle. At Remy's tired nod, the needle slid into his IV bag. He was propped up on some pillows and fussed over as his eyes slowly unfocussed, before finally closing again.

"Well." Logan said, catching my attention. "How 'bout I rustle us up some lunch?"

"I am a little hungry." I admitted. "I dropped the file I need to read in the control room though. Think you could grab it for me?"

Logan nodded and left the room without another word. Hank was busy bustling around the room cleaning up and Charles was sitting quietly by the door.

"Alas, my dear, I have urgent matters to attend to upstairs. I must leave you now, but I will be down to see you soon. Or perhaps you will join us upstairs for dinner?" He asked with his eyebrow cocked.

"We'll see." I answered noncommittally.

"If you are feeling well enough." He agreed, and he turned and left.

The tablet had stayed with me through my fall and our trip, so I quietly occupied myself pulling up the latest news. There was no mention of whatever Tony and the Avengers were up to, which was always much more concerning. I rubbed my stomach to try and break up the ball of worry forming there. Tony would be fine, he always was. In an effort to take my mind off that worry I turned to the market's news, and when that could not hold my interest anymore, I put the tablet down and rubbed my eyes. Hank had left a while ago, and the last few days were starting to catch up with me. I was struggling to stay awake.

"Mmmmm. Belle." Remy was mumbling and his eyelids were fluttering.

"Yeah?" I asked him, as I turned to face him.

He rolled over onto his right side to face me, but his eyes still weren't focusing.

"C'mere." He demanded. I laughed.

"I'm as close as I can get right now, Remy."

"No y'not." He accused, before his eyes closed again and he settled back to sleep.

I was still giggling when Logan came back, loaded down with a tray.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"The other patient here woke up. A little bit. Enough to talk, anyways."

Logan snickered as he laid the tray over my lap. He waved the file in front of me and then put it next to me on the bed. I pulled up to sit taller as Logan dragged a chair over next to the bed. There were four plates on the tray, all of them covered and I raised my eyebrows at Logan.

"Didn't know what to get me?" I asked him.

"Naw, three a' those 're for me."

"Oh, of course." I said with a smile on my face. Upon uncovering the plates, I realized they all held steak and veggies. I picked the plate with the steak that looked the most well done (which was still very rare.) and started in on the potatoes. Logan snagged a plate for himself and started on the steak. We ate in companionable silence, finishing pretty quickly.

Finally feeling satisfied, I was having a harder time keeping my eyes open and yawns at bay. Logan grinned and pushed me back as he took the tray off my bed. The blankets were drawn up over my shoulders and my tablet and file were placed on the stand next to me. I shuffled the pillows around until I had my right leg slung unbent over one I was clutching with my arms, and had the rest situated nicely under my head. Logan was shuffling around behind me, and when I looked over my shoulder at me, he had his legs stretched out in front of him and a tattered paperback book in his hands. Realizing he was planning to stay for a awhile, I settled in again and drifted off to sleep peacefully for the first time in a long time.

Waking a few hours later feeling warm and safe was wonderful, like heaven. Drifting somewhere between waking and sleeping I slowly became aware of hushed voices around me. Blinking awake, I saw Hank at the end of my bed, and when I twisted, Logan behind me with his feet kicked up onto my bed. He had changed into a sleeveless shirt and jeans, and there was a small package on his lap. I jolted upright as I realized what was in it.

"Oooh, oooh, oooh, gimme gimme gimme!" I squealed. Hank jumped about a mile high, not having known I was awake, and Logan grinned at me.

"Oh, you think this is fer you, do ya?" He asked cheekily.

"I really do." I said, nodding and wriggling with excitement. My hands were fluttering in front of me and I started reaching for the box before Logan even held it out for me.

"Well, lemme see what the name on it is then. Hmmm, I don't see yer name on it." He teased.

"Well of course you don't, that would be stupid." I was pretty impatient at this point.

He put the box next to his ear and shook it. Hank laughed at our antics, his hand still pressed to his chest from the scare I'd given him.

"My dear friend, perhaps you should give Aleisha her package before she bursts from the excitement." He suggested. I nodded energetically.

"Ah, fine, y'always gotta ruin my fun Hank." Logan grumbled before tossing the package to me. It was taped tighter than I could dig through with my fingers and I threw Logan a desperate glance. He rolled his eyes but unsheathed the claws on his right hand. I held the box out and with a few quick slices it was opened.

I gleefully pulled it back into my lap and flipped the sides up. The bracelets were on the top of the pile, and I snapped them onto my wrists right away. There were similar anklets below them, which I left in the box. They were meant for flight, and my knee wasn't able to handle standing right now, let alone taking off from the ground. A leather wallet was next in the bed of packaging peanuts, and when I flipped it open it was full of gift cards to my favorite stores, a fake ID for me in the clear sleeve. When I drew it out, another copy of my actual information was behind it. A quick inspection of the billfold in it revealed five thousand dollars cash. I tucked the wallet under my leg and continued plundering my small chest of goodies. Imported chocolates from Belgium were next, and I popped one in my mouth before offering some to the Hank and Logan, who both declined. Remy was still asleep, or he would have been offered one as well.

Under that were my hair products, a comb, hair ties and pretty clips, along with a small assortment of soaps, lotions and lip balms. I quickly used one of the lip balms, groaning at the relief it brought me. The box was maybe 8"X4", but as I dug around for any missed goodies, I noticed there were slips of folded paper floating among the packing peanuts. Opening one brought a great big smile to my face.

'Love you lots and thinking of you! – Jan' was scrawled messily across the paper. Extracting another one I read 'You are in my thoughts Aleisha. Be safe. – Steve'. They were all notes from people dear to me. Even a few S.H.E.I.L.D. agents had signed little notes to me. I gathered them all up, counting 21 little notes, before checking one last time that there was nothing left in the box. There wasn't.

With a wistful sigh, I turned my attention to the bracelets I was now wearing. An inspection of what had only been a communicator revealed it was now a complete computer, which I switched on. The display flickered to life in front of me, and was exactly what I'd had up on my personal computer the last time I'd used it. I glanced over the stock exchanges quickly and sent Tony a quick confirmation that I had received the package before shutting the computer down again.

With a contented sigh, I swung my legs off the bed and looked at Logan expectantly. He raised an eyebrow and stayed seated.

"Charles wanted me tested with the bracelets, remember?" I asked. I knew that if they'd heard me fall, they'd heard my conversation with Tony. Logan scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed that he'd been caught faking deafness to my conversation.

"Huh." He grunted. I started swing my left leg forward and back, giving him my best big, gimme something pleeeeeeeeease eyes. When he still hadn't moved, I clutched my hands together beneath my chin. He heaved a sigh as he rolled up to his feet, disappearing from the room, presumably to look for a wheelchair. My hands dropped back down to the bed as my leg continued to swing.

"Feeling a tad cabin feverish my dear?" Hank queried as he reached down to take the IV out of my hand.

"Little bit." I shrugged. "Blowing stuff up should help with that though." My grin maybe got a little wicked, and excitement rose in my chest. Logan pushed my new chariot through the door and Remy groaned from beneath his blankets. He slowly pushed out from under them as Logan pulled up next to my bed.

"Where we goin'?" Remy asked.

"Tha girl an' I are headed back to the danger room. Yer stayin' here, Cajun." Logan answered gruffly.

"No 'm not." Remy argued drunkenly as he rolled to the edge of his bed. Hank tutted and tried to push him back under the blankets. I quickly stood on my left leg and pirouetted to sit in the chair. Logan helped me get my right leg onto the extended pedal. When I turned back to face the door and Remy's bed, he was standing, wobbly but standing.

"Ooooh, can he come with us?" I pleaded with Logan.

"I dunno, _can_ he?" Logan asked, making me giggle.

"Lets see." I suggested. Remy's eyes were narrowed as he watched the two of us banter.

"You get ta carry him if 'e passes out." Logan shot back. I cackled with laughter.

"Deal!" I agreed. If he did pass out we could probably just sling him across the arms of the chair. Logan and I looked to Remy, who was grinning broadly now.

"Dis Cajun'll agree t'any deal where 'e carry's a pretty femme!" He was nodding in a very satisfied manner.

"No, Gambit, it'd be her-"

"Sssshhhh." I admonished Logan, twisting to lay my hand over his. "Lets go!" He shook his head again, but started pushing my chair. Hank smiled indulgently and told us to call him if anyone lost consciousness.

Remy walked beside me, weaving with nearly every step, occasionally putting a hand on my wheelchair to keep his balance. When the elevator opened up, Charles was waiting for us inside with a merry twinkle in his eye.

"I heard you got a package Aleisha." He said as the doors closed behind Logan. I proudly held up my wrists to show my bracelets off. They were very thin, and matched the Iron Man armor in color, with five buttons on the top half and a gold band running under my wrists. The middle buttons were red, with circular cut sapphires in their centers. The sapphire on my left wrist was carefully cut to look like Captain America's shield, complete with a star in the center of three circles, though you'd never see it from a distance. On either side of those were two gold buttons, one with a short knife etched onto it and one with a full-length sword etched into it. Next to the swords was a button with a large blue circle that had been carved in and then painted, and next to the short knives was a raised emblem of a bow and arrow.

"Very clever." Charles commented, after examining them closely.

"How about just target practice today?" I suggested. My knee was no longer feeling the Novocain and I knew I'd never be able to stand long enough to show off with the knife or sword. Charles nodded as we exited the elevator. When we reached the danger room, Charles went up to the control room and Remy followed Logan and I into the main room.

"Can we raise one of the floor panels?" I asked. No one said anything, but one rose in the middle of the room to about waist height for me.

"Further back towards the control room please." I called to Charles. As that one slid down another slid up more like three-quarters of the way back from the side furthest from the door. With Logan's assistance I slid out of the chair and sat on the edge of the panel. As I watched, a target manifested on the wall in the spot furthest from me.

Twisting my left wrist until my hand was palm-up, I lifted both fists over my head, ignoring the screaming protests of my ribs, and knocked the archery buttons against each other. I pulled my hands back down to chest level, left arm extended straight and right arm bent with my hand near my ear. Metal plates flashed out of the bracelets and covered my palms. A bow flashed into existence, with an arrow nocked and ready to be fired. I aimed carefully, let the energy arrow fly, and hit a perfect bulls eye. Remy whistled, impressed, and Logan merely watched with his brawny arms folded. The arrow pulsed once before fading out of existence. I reached my right hand forward and caught the illusion of a bowstring, drawing it back again. A new arrow flashed into existence, and I fired again. I repeated this four times before letting the bow wink out of sight.

I tapped a button on my right wrist and a small knife materialized into my hand. I drew it back and threw it at the target, again hitting a bull's eye as the energy embedded into the wall.

"Where'd you learn ta t'row knives?" Remy asked, sounding stunned.

"An old boyfriend of mine grew up in the circus. He showed me how." I shrugged. Remy didn't need to know that this old boyfriend had showed me how when I was fifteen and he was twenty, well before we started dating.

I tapped the buttons for the repulsors and the centers of the plates over my palms lit up brightly. I took careful aim and flexed my hands rapidly, firing in short bursts before holding my hands out and flexed. The beams grew stronger, and when I interlocked my thumbs they combined into one beam that obliterated my target from sight. When I relaxed my hands and drew them down, the wall was blackened and the target nowhere to be found. Pressing the repulsor button again made the plates over my palms retract back into the bracelets.

Just to demonstrate, I pushed the button for the shield. It popped into existence over my wrist, and as I held the button it got bigger and bigger. I stopped its growth before it would sweep downward and meet the floor, since Logan was standing too close. I released the pressure on the button and the shield held, before I pressed the button again and it winked out of existence.

"Very impressive!" Charles called out. "Of course you may wear them in the mansion. Mr. Stark isn't the only one who could rest easier knowing you have them. Very impressive indeed." Logan dropped me a wink as he grabbed my hips to help guide me into the chair again.

Remy was eying me very suspiciously, with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Dat was very impressive Belle. Where'd you learn ta shoot like dat?" He asked.

"It's my hobby." I shrugged. "I compete in horseback marksmanship and archery." His eyebrows shot way up towards his hairline, making me smile. As we moved towards the door I powered up the computer on my wrist and brought up the video of my last competition. Remy's jaw dropped as my horse thundered through the gate, no bridle or saddle, with my bow already drawn ready for the first target. The video was short, and as Charles came to meet us in the hallway my horse was already disappearing back through the gate on screen.

"Ah, showing off, are we?" Charles asked with a big smile.

"Isn't that kind of what this was all about? You've seen my trophies before."

"Indeed I have, but these are very different from your competition weapons."

"Mmmhmm." I hummed. That was true, but I was guessing he knew I'd start getting antsy pretty quickly too. It had been fun though, so I wasn't going to make him admit this had been mostly for my benefit.

"Back to the room then." I suggested "I think it's about time I read that file Hank gave me."

"Wanna grab it and go up to tha library?" Logan asked.

"No thanks. I'd like to stretch out in the bed." I lied. I'd only seen the library in passing on the way to the day room but I knew I'd love it, if it weren't for the kids I'd probably bother by being there.

"If ya say so." Logan rumbled.

"I do." I agreed.

Nothing more was said as we got into the elevator. Remy was leaning heavily on the wall, his face starting to look pinched with pain. When we quietly reached the bay of beds that we were apparently assigned to, he climbed into his without a word, pulling the blankets nearly over his head. Moments later, his shoes came sailing out from under the covers and he lay very still.

Logan helped me into my bed and turned away to grab a table that would reach over my lap. Charles and Hank were back by the door, conversing quietly, and as I spread the first six pages of the file out over the table Logan settled back into the chair next to me. I removed the bracelet with the computer and set it to scan the pages as I dangled it over the table.

Turning to Logan, I remarked "You must have other things you need to do.".

He shifted uneasily in his seat. "Naw, not really." Was his muttered reply.

"No students to terrify, no paperwork to fill out, no checkbook to balance?" I asked.

"'S the weekend. The kids whine too damn much when I work them on the weekends."

"I'm willing to bet that's never stopped you before. I'm fine by myself, go do whatever it is you usually do." I said firmly, turning to lay out the next 6 pages.

Charles had come closer as we talked, and interjected. "Indeed, Logan, I had hoped to speak to you in my office."

Logan rubbed his face in an agitated way, throwing me a frustrated look. I smiled serenely back at him, before shuffling the papers before me away and starting to lay out the next six.

"I will be perfectly happy to sit here and read this quietly. Let me also remind you, it's been a few years since I've needed a babysitter. Your mansion should survive just fine if you're not watching me."

"Awww, you know I'm not worried 'bout that." He said sheepishly. Charles chuckled at him, and I dropped him a wink before giving the file my attention one more time.

"Come my friend." Charles said, already turning and headed to the door. "I've known this young lady to ignore entire galas in favor of a book or periodical. You've no chance of holding her attention against research."

With a heavy sigh, Logan heaved himself to his feet and followed Charles and Hank out of the door. I spent the next ten minutes scanning the rest of the file, before slipping the bracelet back on and tossing a display of the file up before me. I read through the first three pages before exiting out of it. A projection of a keyboard appeared on the table and I quickly used it to encrypt the file, and make it accessible only through this computer. No info in it already, or any that I may generate from it would ever, ever find its way into the cloud, and if anyone tried to access it I would know immediately. This was something amazing, and possibly something terrible.

I opened it again, changing the keyboard to a writing pad and lost myself in the science.


	13. Chapter title

There was a brisk knock at the door before Hank came back in, that made Remy jerk upright with a giant snort. He sat still for a moment, before bringing his hand to his head and groaning.

"Still not feeling your best my friend?"

"Mmmm… T'ink ah'll feel bettah wit' some food doc."

With that he swung his legs off the bed and seemed to take a look down at himself. He was only wearing the bandage on his chest and his blood spattered uniform bottoms.

"Ah… should prol'ly change 'fore dinner."

Hank hummed. "That might be wise. Wouldn't want to worry any of the students."

Remy heaved himself to his feet, leaving a hand on the bed for a long time, getting his bearings with his head hanging down. The way his chest heaved was worrying, and Hank looked ready to leap over and catch him should he crumple. Remy gathered himself better than I'd thought he would though, and straightened before beginning to stagger towards the door.

"I'll seeya at dinner, Belle." He mumbled as he left the room, not turning to look at either Hank or I.

Hank turned back to me, looking more serious than maybe I've ever seen him. It was appropriate, because I knew my own face was stony. I tossed the pages that were on my display into their file, and deleted that file so thoroughly that no traces of it could ever be found on any of my tech. While that happened, Hank came over and sat on the bed Remy had just vacated.

"I can't believe you thought I'd ever take that." I said quietly. Hank didn't say anything, but Logan came through the door.

"Just tossed Gambit into his room ta clean up… huh. Maybe I should come back." He actually sounded a little nervous.

"No, no, this might involve you. Stay." I said as I sat up a little straighter, and angled myself to see them better.

"I can't take your cure." I was looking straight at Logan. His bushy eyebrows arched, and he grabbed a chair, putting it at the end of Remy's bed.

"An' why not, darlin'? 'Fraid you might become like us?" Logan's tone was light and joking. He stretched legs out in front of him and crossed his ankles at the same time he crossed his arms.

"Frankly the thought that I might become like you scares me shitless." I confessed. "I don't know how you handle it." Logan looked shocked for a nanosecond, then angry, and Hank's brow furrowed.

"Care to explain that?" Logan growled.

"You don't… you don't even know how old you are. I can't. I can't even…" My scramble for words was frustrating even me, and both the men were frowning mightily. "The thought, of outliving _everyone_ that I love, and have loved, and _will_ love, makes me so, so terribly sad that I feel like a crater could open on my chest and swallow me whole."

Hank winced and turned away from Logan. Logan just nodded his understanding, forehead smoothing out.

"But," I continued after clearing my throat, "That's not an issue. All the rodent test subjects lived a normal life span after the meds cleared their systems and the larger animals aged normally."

I took a deep breath before continuing. "He can't synthetically replicate it, Logan. He can't make it available to humanity, and frankly, he probably shouldn't. But population issues aside, I'm not going to drain you. He needs so much of your blood… I'm not going to heal myself at anyone else's detriment. I'm certainly not going to steal your blood, to use it when so many other people are suffering. It's theft twice, and so very unethical it makes my head spin."

Logan rubbed his face with both hands and Hank lowered his head in shame.

"Take it." Logan put his arms back down and met my eyes. "The doc already took my blood. He's been working on it since then."

My head was already shaking no. "I cannot do that."

"Just this once." Logan argued. His eyes flicked to Hank, and then back to me. "Keep working on it doc. I wanna talk to 'er."

Hank rose to his feet, and stood in front of me.

"I will admit that certain of these ramifications had not crossed my mind when I thought to provide you with this. I saw a woman that I hold dear, broken and in pain, and my only instinct was to take that pain away."

I caught his hand and met his eyes. "I know. I probably would have done the same thing, for certain people."

Hank nodded, and left.

"It's almost done." Logan said. "'S better ta use it now than let it go ta waste."

"Not good enough." I said. "It's thieving, from someone who just go hit by a bus, pushed off a building. Someone who's about to die violently – who the hell am I to take this from them? There are millions more people in the world, more deserving of this and who need it more than me and my stupid knee."

"So use it, and fight for 'em." Logan said.

"Huh?"

"Use it. It's already here. Use it, and join up with tha X-Men and th' Avengers. Come outta retirement."

The idea was tempting. Logan snatched the tablet from the nightstand where I'd left it. He poked at it in an agitated way while I re-firmed my convictions.

"What are you doing?" I asked as my bracelet com beeped. The words 'His Excellency' flashed over my wrist. Tony.

"'M tryin ta call Stark. Maybe he'll talk some sense into ya." His hand flashed across the bed and smashed the com button on my bracelet. Tony snapped into existence in front of me and Logan wrestled his way next to me, settling back when he thought he could be seen.

"Uh. Do you two crazy kids got somethin' to tell me? You get married, knock her up?" Tony was joking but he did sound genuinely confused about seeing me sitting so close to Wolverine.

"What!? No!" Logan looked pretty confused himself as he eased away from me a little. I laughed. "No, Stark, you gotta minute?"

The right corner of Tony's mouth twitched up. "So you did knock her up. Mozel tov!" I laughed even harder as Logan's cheeks tinted red. Whether it was with embarrassment or anger, I didn't know.

"Stark!" Logan bellowed. I winced, since he was inches from my ear.

"What?" Tony asked, the portrait of innocence.

"We gotta way ta fix her knee. It'll fix everything she ever hurt. And she won't take it."

The humor drained from Tony's face. "Take it." He said.

"Nope. It can't be replicated and it takes four pints of one man's blood to engineer it."

"Kraven's left the city Aleisha. Take it." I sucked in air as my stomach sank.

"You lost him."

"We're a little busy here Aleisha. I was doing the best I could."

"Well shit." I said.

"You take it," Logan started. "And we'll track 'im down an put 'im away."

"Uhhhhh…" Tony said. "We as in 'we the X-Men'?"

"'We' as in me an' her."

"You have known me way too short a time to know me so well." I told Logan flatly.

"I'll say." Tony agreed. "So you know about the…" He whistled and waved his hand expressively.

"We met overseas a few years back." Logan clarified.

"Gotcha." Tony turned back to me. "Take it because it will keep you safer for now. Take it because it'll make you independent again, and I know how you love that. And _most_ important of all, take it so I'll feel a little better about how this all went down."

"Take it an' join one o' our teams. You'll have all those years a' learnin an' yer body'll be a clean slate. You'll do a lotta good." I rubbed my face in frustration.

"Kraven changes things." I admitted. "The thought of still being… Like this…" I waved a hand over my useless leg. "If he comes here, is really frustrating. I've never let people fight in my place."

"I know." Tony said. "If you did, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess." I winced.

"She coulda taken 'im if she hadn't got sick, easy." Logan defended me.

"No, I deserved that." I said.

"Still won't change you." Tony said. "And it shouldn't. You'll take him down. We'll be more than happy to have you back on the team when you're done with this."

Reluctantly, I nodded. "I'll join a team full time." I said softly. "For exactly a year, after Kravinoff's dealt with." Tony nodded back at me.

"I'm glad to hear it, but that's not why I called. We're headed into space in like, twenty minutes. Once the jets are ready." I bit my lip. He made these calls to me every time he thought there was a chance he wouldn't be coming home.

"Who is it?" I asked softly.

"Kree. They're after some of their people that we've put on ice."

"Damn."

"So uh, you know how this goes." Tony continued. "You've got all the paperwork you'll need if we don't come back. And you know I'll call you when we inevitably do come back."

"'Course we're coming back." A cheerful voice offered from Tony's end of the line. Clint winked into the hologram, bent over Tony's shoulder. He was dressed in his battle suit.

"Long time no see Wolverine." Clint offered. "Aleisha keepin' you guys busy?"

"Naw, she's pretty quiet."

Both Tony and Clint adopted identical looks of shock.

"Shut up." I told them, stubbornly not looking at Logan.

Clint looked at Tony. "What did you tell them before you sent them after her?" His voice was colored by disbelief.

"I thought Chuck and McCoy knew her pretty well." Tony protested.

"Clearly not." Came Clint's dry retort.

"Shut. Up." I warned them.

"We're about to go into space, and Stark said you're in a wheelchair, so I figure I'm safe." Clint teased.

"I wouldn't bet on that." Tony was grinning as he warned Clint too.

"What's life without some risk?" Clint asked rhetorically before turning to Logan. "Before we go let's give you a quick run down on the care and feeding of an Aleisha." They were moving now, probably to the Quinn jet hanger.

"She likes spicy food." Tony started.

"I'm right here. And I'll eat whatever they put in front of me." I said blandly.

"Not so much seafood." Clint added. I glanced sidelong at Logan, and the bastard was grinning.

"She hates spiders." Tony continued.

"It might seem like fun to tease her about that, but it won't end well for you." Clint added seriously.

"Personal experience, huh?" Logan asked. Clint shuddered.

"She's ripped out handfuls of his hair in the middle of a spider freak out. Twice." Tony sniggered.

"Ya went after 'er with spiders twice?" Logan sounded dumbfounded.

"Just once. The second time I was in the wrong place when she found one in the Mansion." Clint groused.

"I knitted you a hat to cover the bald spots after the second time." I argued.

"I looked like I had mange for months."

"I remember that." A woman's voice floated in from off the screen. "In fact, I still have the pictures of it."

"_You do not_." Clint sounded scandalized.

"Think you could send those to me Widow?" I raised my voice and Clint cringed.

"And what would I get for that?" Tasha sounded gleeful.

"The warm fuzzy feeling that comes from helping a sick and injured friend?" I asked hopefully.

"Try again."

"That warm fuzzy feeling that comes from messing with Hawkeye when he's been a butthead?" I asked.

"Warmer."

"That warm fuzzy feeling that comes from messing with Hawkeye when he's been a butthead and a promise to help you torture Tony till he finally manufactures those new guns he promised you five months ago?"

"Deal. I'm sending them… now."

"_WIDOW!_" Clint whined.

"Awww, they're almost done, I just got a little sidetracked." Tony whined as well.

"That was too easy, Widow. What'd Hawkeye do this time?" I asked as the com beeped that a message had arrived.

"He and Thor were playing target practice in the kitchen. He shot my coffee mug dead."

I dissolved into giggles as the bickering continued in the background. Logan had a smaller smile on his face.

"Anythin' else we should know?" Logan called, ending the tiff the avengers were having before it descended into a full on brawl, or at least paused it.

"Spicy food, seafood, spiders… when she gets cabin fever she gets pretty scary, so maybe… air her out at a mall soon?" Tony suggested. Logan actually shuddered. Tony smirked.

"Well, it's been fun, but we gotta head out now." Tony said. "You'll be my first call when we get back Aleisha."

"Be safe!" I called out, and the transmission ended with a chorus of "We will!"s and "Feel better!"s.

Logan pulled himself off the bed and settled in the chair again.

"That's how they psyche themselves up for the big battles, sometimes." I offered. "I dunno how you guys do it, but they tease each other. And the people around them."

"Like you?" He asked.

"Like me. And Pepper. Various S.H.I.E.L.D. flunkies."

"Didjya really rip out Hawkeye's hair?"

"In my defense, the first time it was a camel spider he dropped on my lap in the middle east. He totally deserved it."

"An' the second time?"

"Second time was in no way his fault. He was just in my way while I was bailing out of my bedroom when we moved into the Avengers Mansion."

As Logan snickered over that, I pulled up the pictures Natasha had sent me. There were two, both of them from the incident reports filed with S.H.I.E.L.D.. Clint had identical scowls in both pictures, even though they'd been taken years apart. Logan started howling with laughter, bending over and slapping his leg. My ribs hurt too much to laugh as hard as he was, but I did giggle along with him. It was a ghost of the camaraderie I'd had with them all those years, but it was so nice to see all of the Avengers again.

When Logan got himself under control he slipped off the bed, still chortling. He disappeared briefly and came back with a wheelchair for me.

"Oh, no." I said, waving my hands. "I should eat down here."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Y'can't hide down here forever, kid."

"That sounds like a good plan to me."

"Chuck wouldn'ta brought ya here if he din't trust ya. Woulda been plenty simple ta take ya somewheres else, an' have one a us hole up with ya. He chose to have ya here."

"And I'm very flattered, but those kids up there didn't choose to have me here, and I scare them."

"Tch." He waved his hand dismissively. "They'll get over it." I crossed my arms and gave him my stubborn face. He couldn't wrestle me into that chair without hurting me, and I knew he wouldn't do that. His scowl was impressive, but not really intimidating enough to work on me. The speculative look he gave me after a minute of our staring contest did give me pause though.

"Fine." He said. "I'll just have dinner delivered."

He disappeared, and came back with Bobby Drake and a short, bubbly Asian girl.

"Hi! I'm Jubilee!" She squealed when she saw me. Bobby was pushing a cart loaded with food, and Logan was following him. I squelched the urge to glare at him and smiled at the girl.

"Hi." I returned as I pushed myself a little further up the bed. She apparently took that as an invitation to plop down next to me. The bed moved, jostling my leg and making me gasp softly. Logan frowned at her disapprovingly.

"Oh, sorry, sorry!" She apologized, jumping up again. This time I just gritted my teeth as the bed lifted back up.

"So." I said after my knee was back to just throbbing. "What's on the menu tonight?"

"Ooooh, it's Jean's pasta tonight." The girl burbled excitedly. "It's so good, you won't even believe it!"

Bobby was already situating the food, and the table was wheeled over my bed as Logan dropped into his chair and the girl and Bobby sat on the edge of Remy's bed. Jubilee could talk your ear off, and she monologued while the rest of us ate, nodding and agreeing with her periodically.

As we finished eating, Remy stumbled back into the room leaning heavily on Rogue.

"Gumbo!" Jubilee squealed happily.

"Belle." He whined at me. "Thought I'd see y'upstairs." Rogue tried to drop him on the bed on the other side of Jubilee and Bobby but he shook her off, looking annoyed. "M'fine, Rogue. You kin go back upstairs." Rogue looked hurt for a second, before turning sharply and walking out without a word. Remy took a minute to survey the room before he staggered over to my bed.

Anticipating what he wanted, I budged over to the right, leaving him room to sit on the left side of the bed.

"Cajun…" Logan started.

"He's fine." I assured Logan as Remy turned to settle on the bed. Jubilee was quiet for once, watching my face carefully for signs of pain. The bed didn't shift too much, and once Remy was settled with his legs stretched in front of us I slipped my left leg over his right before tucking my toes under his calf. He jumped a little when the cold from my foot seeped through his pajama pants and brought his hand down onto my thigh.

"Y'cold, Belle." He started fussing with the blankets, nearly knocking over the table with my food on it. Logan reached out and saved it in time, dragging it over to his chair so he could use it himself. When Remy felt that the blankets were properly situated, I gave him the space to lean back against the bed before leaning against his chest.

"What about desert?" Jubilee asked, staring askance at Logan's appropriation of my table.

"I'm fine without." I murmured. Remy's body heat was seeping into me and it felt really nice. He wriggled a little bit to put himself even further behind me as he wrapped an arm around me. We managed to keep up a conversation for another hour or so – Jubilee grew on me. She was a little much when I was so tired and sore, but I could tell that when I was in a better mood I'd enjoy the hell out of her. At least I hoped so, since Logan promised to take her when we took a trip to the mall.

Finally, Hank came in to usher everyone out and toss Remy back into the bed next to mine. Remy got a dose of painkillers before Hank turned to tend to me. My blankets were adjusted and new ice packs were slipped into my brace before Hank pulled back.

"I know you didn't want anything earlier, but I wanted to offer you something for the pain." Hank offered. The throbbing was getting worse, and I made a face.

"Yeah." I sighed. I hated it, but there probably wasn't any other way I'd sleep through the night. Hank set up an IV with the antibiotics and a painkiller, and I faded to sleep even before he was out of the door.


	14. Chapter 14b

It was still a restless night for me, but every time I surfaced from the drugs Remy's snoring lulled me back to sleep quickly. When Remy started moving around at 6am, I woke up for good myself. Hank and Logan came in not too long after that. Hank moved straight to a sink, washing up while my stomach churned.

"Don't gimme that face." Logan told me gruffly. He turned to Remy. "Out, Cajun." Remy did roll out of bed with a grimace, but he looked much steadier than he had the day before.

"Y'sure, Belle?" He asked in a sleep roughened voice. Not trusting my voice, I nodded. Logan shoved him towards the door.

"What, no breakfast first?" I asked shakily once Remy was gone. Logan grimaced.

"Y'don't want no food in ya darlin." I groaned and rubbed my face. "No second thoughts." Logan ordered. I laughed humorlessly.

"I'm exponentially past 'second' thoughts." Hank's shoulders hunched. "But I'm ready."

In short order, a scary looking needle was hovering over my bicep while Logan hovered over the opposite arm, ready to pin me down if I convulsed too hard. "Do it." I ordered, and shut my eyes as the needle pushed in.

It hurt, it hurt so bad. It swept through my body, starting from my left arm and travelling up and down my spine. Fingers long broken unbent, muscles strained and aching for years clenched hard before suddenly relaxing. Whimpering, I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood. It healed with an itch the second my teeth left the cut. As the pain made it's way down my back in waves, my vision started to white out. Before I could get dragged under into unconsciousness, my knee was reached. As the muscle and tendon rearranged itself, I started screaming. There was no helping it – it was a white hot fire in my leg, and as it died down, my shrieks became broken sobs. Logan had at some point pressed down on my shoulders, and my fingernails were gouging skin out of his arms.

As the last of the pain swept down to my toes, I forced my hands to unclench and pulled them away from Logan's arms. I lay shuddering on the bed, the ghosts of the mind numbing agony whispering through all of my muscles. When I focused on his face, Hank looked horrified.

"Aleisha… What has happened to you?" He whispered, looking up and down my body. "I had no idea. No idea…" Logan let up on my shoulders as my muscles stopped jumping and reached down for the now useless knee brace. My eyes fluttered closed as the straps were loosened and it was tugged off. The lack of pain was heavenly.

I kept my eyes closed as I felt every inch of my body. Logan had said it would be a clean slate… I had to disagree. There was too much strength, too much knowledge etched into those muscles for it to be compared to a clean slate. With a small contented sigh, I started moving. Fingers and toes first, before stretching out my arms and legs. I hugged my knees to my chest before rolling onto my side. Logan crouched down to see my face, and answered my smile with one of his own.

As I sat up and dangled my feet over the edge of the bed, I giggled. When I _flowed_ to my feet with a grace I hadn't possessed in years, my giggles became cackles.

"I feel amazing!" I exclaimed, twirling in a tight circle. Logan was grinning broadly at me. Hank's face was neutral. I didn't remember ever feeling so good though, so Logan got my focus.

"I've got energy to spare." I was bouncing up and down on my toes, eying him expectantly.

"Yeah?" Logan winked at me. "Anythin' I could do 'bout that?"

"Oooh, I think there might just be." Logan stood back and gestured towards the door. I paused to grab Hank in a tight hug. He stiffened, but reached up to pat my back once. We broke apart and I made for the door, Logan and I leaving behind a very confused Hank McCoy.

Once we hit the hallway I started running, racing Logan to the Danger Room. I got there first, turning and crowing at him.

"Yeah yeah." He rolled his eyes. "I got a bag for ya in the locker room. Go change."

Something close to my old uniform was waiting for me – sleeveless, hugged close to my body without being skintight or constricting, and combat boots. Most important was the sports bra. It was a few sizes too small, but it would do until we went to the mall. When I joined him in the doorway to the Danger Room, he'd become Wolverine, with that mask drawn over his face.

"Gonna have to switch out the boots." I told him, rolling my ankles around experimentally. "But overall, I like it."

"Yer jus' givin yerself an excuse fer when I hear ya comin'." He smirked. I narrowed my eyes.

"Oh, you think you're gonna hear me coming, huh? It's on, now."

The room stayed normal while he made me warm up – simple aerobics, jumping jacks, some running. When he was satisfied, he called out a program, and we were in a forest. I froze for a second, reminded of Kravinoff dragging me out of a mountain that looked eerily like this, though – forests tend to look alike. Shaking off the coincidence, we walked away from each other. The exercise would start in two minutes. Knowing he was impatient, I climbed a tree next to a boulder, got comfortable, and waited for him to come to me.

It didn't take long, maybe 15 minutes. I could hear him crashing through a bush nearby and tensed my thigh muscles. He was scanning the trees, but missed me half hidden behind the boulder, so when he looked away I launched myself from the branch I'd perched on. We hit the ground hard, and I couldn't tell if he grunted from the hit or surprise. Rolling, he gained the upper hand for a second before I put my knee in his gut. Using his flinch I slithered out from beneath him and knelt on his chest.

"One point for me!" I cheered before digging my knees in and jumping off him. His grunt was more annoyed than pained as I dashed off into the foliage. Recalling my thousands of hours training in parkour with Hawkeye, I launched myself off the ground, catching a tree branch to swing to the top of a sapling. Crouching for a second, I waited for a few beats to hear where Logan was. Only silence hit my ears, which was worrying. It meant Logan was getting serious.

Since I was on such high alert, I wasn't _too_ surprised when the sapling suddenly tipped towards the ground, and my fall was controlled so I ended up aimed at Wolverine. He raised his arms and our palms smacked together.

"Pause!" I gasped. The strength in my arms felt amazing. Logan froze, stabilizing me as I perched in a handstand above him.

"I think…" I trailed off for a moment. "I think I could…" I bent my elbows and our faces came closer as I started a handstand push-up. "Ha-ha!" I crowed as I straightened my arms. "Oh, Logan, I haven't done that in _years_!" On the next push-up I came down even further and held it, amazed by the strength in my biceps and the lack of agony in my shoulder. "I haven't been able to do this since Modok threw me out a window of Warthington Towers, Logan. This is _incredible_!" I pushed up again. "One arm." I gasped, and started leaning all my weight on my right side. Logan's jaw tightened but he firmed his grip in my right hand and let me release my left. The only discomfort I felt was the normal lactic acid burn in my right arm as I put my left out for balance. My feet spread apart into sideways splits and even as sweat burned into my eyes and my breathing got more labored, I held the position with wonder running through my whole being.

"Wow." I whispered. Snapping my feet together, I brought them down towards my chin in a pike position before landing lightly in front of Logan.

"_WOW_!" was a squealed echo of my own word. Raising my eyebrows, I turned and looked up at the control room. Jubilee was up there, clapping her hands together in delight.

"You're amazing!" She continued. "You fought Modok?" I blinked at her.

"Er. It's not exactly…" I stammered a little. "He uh. Threw me through a window in my building." Her eyes got huge. "And the Hulk caught me by one arm and threw me back at him." Logan snorted once before starting to chuckle.

"Shut _up_." I grumbled. "It worked, kinda. Just, you know. Broke my shoulder when he caught me. And my cheekbone when I hit Modok. Hulk felt bad about it when we were done fighting."

"So. _COOL_!" Jubilee shrieked. Yikes, if she thought that story was 'cool', god only knew what she did for fun.

"What're ya here for, kid?" Logan asked when he was done laughing at me.

"You promised we'd go to the mall, remember?" She sounded so excited. "C'mon, Wolvie. You _promised_."

"_Oooooooh_," I cooed. "The _mall_." Logan groaned.

"It's almost 9 Wolvie, and you two need to get dressed if we're gonna get there when the mall opens." Jubilee whined.

"Yeah, _Wolvie_." I grinned. "You know we gotta get there when the mall opens or we'll never get to everything today. We'd have to go back tomorrow."

I yelped when he pinched my arm. "Don't call me that." He said gruffly. "An' don't even joke 'bout two days in a row at the mall."

"Did you just _pinch_ me?" I was a little flabbergasted at that.

"Seemed excessive ta punch ya." Ah, there was the Wolverine I remembered.

"C'mon, Aleisha, I wanna show you your new room 'fore you buy anything." Jubilee called. Logan sighed and killed the program, winking the forest out of existence.

"Next time I'll whup ya." He whispered to me.

"Ha. Like that'll ever happen." I whispered back. He shoved me forward towards the doors with a dark chuckle I'm sure was meant to intimidate me.

Of course it didn't. I was too excited about getting out of the mansion for something like that.

_A/N: I am looking for a beta so if anyone could help me out, please message me!_


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